Free agent catcher Taylor Teagarden has received an 80-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy, per a league announcement.
The eight-year MLB veteran — who appeared briefly last year with the Cubs — was shown in an Al Jazeera documentary late last year discussing his apparent use of PEDs. It’s unclear whether that evidence provided the basis for his suspension, though the announcement does not refer to any failed tests or alternative grounds for the decision.
Major league baseball has teamed up with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to investigate the allegations against Teagarden and others in the above-noted report, which also cited long-time major leaguers Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Howard — along with stars from other sports — as possible PED offenders.
Of course, it’s important to note that the documentary did not provide anything close to the same level of evidence against those other players as it did with regard to Teagarden, who was surreptitiously taped by a British track athlete posing as an interested PED buyer. Both Zimmerman and Howard have filed a lawsuit alleging defamation against the news agency, while the league has yet to give any indication as to the status of its investigation into the two veterans.
Tegarden, 32, had not signed with an organization when the report aired, and perhaps unsurprisingly has yet to do so since. He has topped 100 plate appearances in a single season only once — back in 2009 with the Rangers — but has been a popular depth piece for quite some time. There’s some pop in his bat, but Teagarden also carries a 34.5% career strikeout rate. All told, he owns a .202/.260/.376 batting line with 21 home runs over 563 major league plate appearances.
Surreptitiously… Good SAT word
Ha!
domino #1?
Possibly!! After watching the documentary I can see why Teagarden would have gotten a suspension considering he was shown talking and admitting to the use of some steroids. The others are mainly a lot of speculation and hearsay.
Got to imagine this will take a little wind out of the sails of any Howard/Zimmerman lawsuit against Al Jazeera.
He would be a great signing for my Sox. Then I could offer him in trade for Miggy or Chris Sale…
My god…
I feel a breeze of great bias…..
He’s gone; enough. (Actually, it was enough a long time ago.)
Teagarden is getting an 80 suspension for proving PED’s don’t necessarily make players better??? If you need PED’s just to be a borderline major leaguer/journeymen/bench player should you really be suspended??
Exactly what I have been saying for years. There is no supplement or drug on this planet that can help you hit major league pitching. It may help you recover from injuries faster and allow players to hit the ball farther. But all the juice in the world is not going to help me come close to hitting a Andrew Miller slider.
PED’s will help already-decent hitters with an understanding of the strike zone.
agreed 100%. Bonds was a great hitter BEFORE the PEDS. Teagarden proves they can’t make a kentucky derby champ out of a plow horse to matter how many drugs you inject.
Yes, of course he should be suspended– he broke one of baseball’s rules.
For some reason I feel like this a joke, is the anti doping agency a real thing, it just doesn’t sound like the name the u.s would give. It probably is true but I don’t know what to believe today.
?
His career is over