12:16PM: The Phillies reinstated right-handed Jose Ruiz from the 15-day injured list, and he’ll take the open spot on the 26-man roster now that Alvarado has been moved to the restricted list.
Dombrowski provided some background on Alvarado’s situation when speaking with reporters (including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer) today. Alvarado told Dombrowski that he didn’t take the PED knowingly, as Alvarado believes it stemmed from his usage of a weight loss drug during the offseason. After the reliever’s positive test, Alvarado tested negative on two subsequent follow-up tests. As expected, Dombrowski didn’t address trade possibilities, and noted that the Phillies’ “abundance of starters” could help provide an internal answer to their bullpen needs.
10:37AM: Major League Baseball announced that Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado has been issued an 80-game suspension for a violation of the league’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Alvarado (who turns 30 on Wednesday) has tested positive for the PED known as exogenous Testosterone. In addition to the 80 games lost in the regular season, Alvarado is also ineligible for any postseason action if Philadelphia reaches the playoffs.
The stunning news leaves the Phillies without not just their closer, but one of the few reliable members of what has been an overall shaky bullpen. Jordan Romano’s early struggles quickly cost him the closer’s role, and Alvarado stepped in as the primary stopper by converting all seven of his save opportunities. Alvarado has a 2.70 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate, 47.3% grounder rate, and a career-best 4.8% walk rate over 20 innings for the Phils, and that major improvement to his control was seemingly the headline story of the left-hander’s season.
Now, of course, those numbers have to be called into question in the wake of the league’s ruling. This is the final guaranteed year of the three-year, $22MM extension Alvarado signed with the Phillies in February 2023, and the Phils hold a $9MM club option (with a $500K buyout) on his services for 2026. Exercising that option was looking like a no-brainer move for the Phillies just hours ago, yet the team might now prefer to part ways with Alvarado if any doubts remain about the sustainability of his performance.
The shorter-term financial impact on Alvarado is also significant, as the suspension will cost him roughly $4.18MM of his $9MM salary for the 2025 season. That money is also subtracted from the Phillies’ books, which may bring their estimated luxury tax number (as per RosterResource) under the maximum penalty threshold of $301MM.
That being said, it seems likely that Philadelphia will re-invest that money into reinforcing its bullpen. The Phillies were surely already looking to add relief pitching even before Alvarado’s suspension, and that need has become even more pronounced now that the team’s closer will be out until mid-August. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is likely going to be challenged to make a quick trade, as even the few teams clearly out of playoff contention will put a high asking price on any trade chips this early in the season.
Romano hasn’t allowed a run over his last seven innings of work, so after a brutal start to the season, he might get the first crack at any save situations. Matt Strahm or Tanner Banks might also get some looks in late-game situations, or the Phillies could use a committee approach rather than settling on a single full-time closer.
teehee
👏🏽
Of course…..He was pitching better
Drugs are baddd Mmmkay..
“Let’s ask Mr. Hat”
Only if you haven’t had good drugs.
Tell that to Mickey Mantles last words
OMFG
he was pitching so much better than last yr and i was wondering what was up. makes sense now
sucks for phillies. romano is garbage. BP is weak. bye bye philly WS hopes
Trade for doval
Or walker but I doubt the giants want to trade either of them
Doubt? Why would the best bullpen in baseball trade any of them? And now they’ve added Hicks, essentially shortening games to 5-6 innings.
Tristan Beck should probably be on a major league roster somewhere. If you got a bullpen need, that’s probably a gettable trade option.
Could’ve had Doval for peanuts early on, now he’s one of the best in THE best bp in MLB. He ain’t going nowhere.
Lol you think one relief pitcher has this much impact, it’s not even June. Get your emotions in check man
Just ask the Mets when they lost Edwin Diaz.. See you next year.
Diaz isn’t THAT good
Alvarado was closer sometimes and a precarious one in crunch time, great news IMO. Dumbrowski has never addressed the question of quality closer, shutdown closer, reliable closer whatever. Time for Dumbrowski to move some of that starting pitching,get 1.
Romano has been rounding into form recently, if you’ve been paying any attention. He’s not garbage, despite struggling early. Strahm and Kerkering are fine relievers. There are worse bullpens out there than this one.
Friend I watch every Phillies game. Phillies bullpen is a hold your breath and hope. Laughing at your Romero comment as I won’t bet my farm on 3 decent performances against the likes of the pirates. Come back to me when you are paying attention.
Romano was garbage in April. Check his stats for May.
Laughing at this nonsense. Come back in August.
Why would you laugh at that since it’s accurate? If you watched any baseball besides your precious Phillies you’d know that Romano is a notorious slow starter with his poor career numbers in April & March compared with the rest of the season. Keep dozing off in your favorite armchair while you leave the real baseball discussions to the people who actually know the game.
Romano is on a 1yr prove it deal with the Phillies. Coming off a dismal year for jays, knucklehead. Wasn’t signed to be the Phillies closer and has been brutal in Philly, until several appearances recently against the likes of the pirates. Go back to managing your t-ball team and stop trying to be Dave Dumbrowski.
Ugghhhhhhhhhhhh!!! We are in trouble now. Dombrowski better start making calls ASAP!!
Dombrowski excels at assembling bullpen pieces (lol)
Hall of Fame executive, but somehow always falls on the BP sword.
Since DD arrived the bullpen has steadily gotten better overall. Old narratives are tired.
All bullpens are works in progress at all times. The loss of an impact arm would affect any team. The last thing that they need to do however is trade away key pieces of the future for the hotshot relief arm of the season – who, if history suggests, would be iffy anyway.
@ Carver
Maybe you don’t get a shot at a World Series without trading away a future big timer.
Marlins won in 2003 in part because they traded away future All Star Adrian Gonzalez to get a quality closer, Urgueth Urbina
Valid point UKPhil. I just think that, given the very iffy nature of the arms that will be available, if the cost to acquire is a top 6 in their system it is a hard no.
And there is no way that I am paying the cost for a Mason Miller with his injury history.
Phils are in a different spot. They need to mitigate payroll in future years with youth. They have guys knocking on the door to help. They have incredible rotation depth for one, and that basically solves the playoff roster, so it is just getting into the playoffs and they can probably make that work internally or with a lesser addition to the pen than the closer types that everyone talks about.
Mason Miller os lights out as a closer. Id pay it.
May I interest you in a former rookie of the year with a neatly groomed beard?
What does Michael Fulmer have to do with this, Badfingah?
Day After Day.
Phillies have a good team but the pen was a weakness before this news.
“Are you sure, Jose?”
“Phil it up, Doc!”
I get the 80 days, but why the playoffs?
Also, Dombrowski is overpaying for any reliever now.
You do the crime, you do the time.
To further disincentivized cheating. For a player earning the league min., playoffs shares are big bucks for them.
So they can’t benefit from any victories he may help with. He’s a cheater. Don’t reward any kind of cheating.
YET, basically nothing of any consequence happened to the 2017 Astros. They still got the trophy, rings & financial shares. Still get called 2017 “World Champion”. It’s a permanent shame on MLB for Manfred to have allowed that.
That’s another discussion
Beating a dead horse, electronic cheating was a systemic issue. The league needed to offer “immunity” to players to help root it out. Manfred acted under the authority of the majority of all the other 29 team owner bosses.
@Dan in Pasadena “So they can’t benefit from any victories he may help with”
As drastic and unrealistic as this may sound, I can’t help but thinking that a rule like this would put an end to this kind of crap in VERY short order. Can you imagine how quickly a team would hang a player by his Buster Brown’s if he cost them a truckload of wins?
Not an Astros fan, but I absolutely do not understand how everyone gets so outraged over sign stealing.
Every. Team. Tries. To. Steal. Signs.
If you can’t tell the difference between using a camera and a runner on 2nd peeking in, I really don’t know what to tell you.
It was the illegal use of tech to steal the signs, which was a widespread problem about which the Astros were one of the more flagrant. Nobody’s outraged about the concept of sign stealing. Sign stealing (or, with pitchcom, looking in to see the pitcher’s grip) via conventional methods is universally recognized and accepted as a part of the in-game strategy.
@Ruthless I agree but keep in mind that live on camera is a little different than looking in at the catcher from second base.
The difference is between what the Yankees have done and the Red Sox have done and what the Astros got caught doing.
Not. With. Banned. Electronic. Devices.
Ruthless, Not the way they did it. Not at all!
I agree ruthlessly.
@Seahawks I recall that after Melky Cabrera had a PED suspension, then he played in the playoffs that fall. Everyone got so upset that they had to make a new rule that now you’re ineligible for postseason even after your suspension.
Melky was on that muscle milk.
Actually Melky’s 50 game suspension ended during the 2012 NLCS, but the Giants put him on the restricted list (although eligible to play) and he never again played for the team. And the Giants went on to sweep the highly favored Tigers in the World Series without him.
Because people were all upset years ago when some player, can’t remember who, got to play in the postseason despite a suspension. But of course when this happens in the NFL the fans say, “He’ll be back for the playoffs, right?” It’s a ridiculous double standard. Once he serves the 80 games he should be able to play in the playoffs if they make it.
Right, Shawn, it was Melky. I had forgotten.
Dang this is gonna hurt
The kid imitating his pitching is now miming a needle into his gut. So sad.
Well Phillies call the Brewers they got Payamps, Pegura, Mcgee, Yeager, Hudson, and Rob Zast that would all be available
Didn’t Rob Zastryzny just get dealt to the Yankees the other day??
I’ve never heard of any of those arms so they probably aren’t closers
Payamps isn’t bad. Though he’s been terrible this year. Good in the previous couple seasons
Never heard of Payamps?
Is MLB getting better at detection or are the players getting dumber?
I had Alvarado on my fantasy team (I also had Profar). I’m beginning to see a trend here….
Oh man you got hosed. By the juice.
Phillies mason miller trade incoming. PA native, went to college in state. Struggling lately but talent is there
And what 4 top prospects are you giving up in this deal?
Bohm for Devin Williams & Everson Pereira
I’d rather keep Williams and bank on a rebound at some point than acquire Bohm. Terrible defense and meh offensively
I just don’t think no matter how good he does this year he would ever consider resigning with the Yankees once he’s a free agent
although I do see him turning it around in a big way for the remainder of the season
He’s already started turning it around in his non-closer role. He handled news of his demotion like a champ. If the Yankees offer him the most money to close games, he’ll resign. Williams will close again and Weaver will get bumped back to being a high-leverage, multi-innings reliever.
There’s a big different between resign and re-sign. Just sayin’.
Cash-Man – Why not? If he returns to the dominant closer he has been I’m sure the Yanks will have interest in retaining him and offer market value +. No reason he wouldn’t be interested unless you have insider knowledge that he hates New York or something
Perhaps he resigned himself to the fact that he won’t re-sign…
I think a big difference for {Williams} will be getting traded against his wishes and disrupting his life, versus getting to choose the Yankees (if he does).
Mainly, I think getting traded messes with certain people who don’t like change. Whether it should or not is a different story, but it certainly does.
I really hope Williams finds his groove because I was such a huge fan of that trade.
Go Yanks!
Phillies will trade for helsley now. He’s on the block and he is a good closer. Plus he is in a contract year. Enough time to get Alvarado back but get helsley to fill in for a bit
Helsley is not on the block. You made that up.
Cardinals are 1 game behind the Cubs and have won 12 out of their last 13 games. Why would they trade their closer now?
I’m not trying to say now. I’ve heard that the Phils are in talks involving him
If the Cardinals were gonna trade Helsley, he’d already be gone. They’re certainly not gonna trade him after winning 12 of 13 or whatever this. They’d have to completely tank and have almost a zero chance of making the playoffs to trade him by the deadline, and by that point, there will be a bidding war for his services. They’d Cardinals aren’t just going to accept the first offer they get from Philly lol
Maybe the can fix Alexis Diaz
Beautiful, accumulating saves just got a lot more troublesome for 2 of my 3 fantasy teams.
But back in the real world, I wonder what Philly would give up for Felix Bautista…
k keep me posted
Rachel-
I care more about his fantasy team than I care about you.
He’s probably just being tsundere.
I bet he actually wants to pick my brain on draft philosophy and roster construction strategy so he can improve his fantasy team’s performance next year, but he’s just too shy to ask outright.
I mean you are a dude in women’s clothing. Might as well dress up like a fireman too.
Good one, Philliesphan!
Trade Felix?? God why? Soto or Seranthony, for sure…but Felix has like 4 years of control left ..
Bautista only has 2.5 years left before free agency and there are multiple contenders that need closers, which could drive the bidding pretty high, so we should absolutely be shopping him this deadline.
We don’t necessarily have to pull the trigger, but we should 100% be listening very closely.
King — You on some ‘burn it all down’ thinking? I don’t see any reason the team isn’t contending next year.
If you shop Felix, you wanna shop Adley too? Jackson Holliday? Guys about to be free agents, for sure. There’s a lot of soon-to-be Free Agents on the squad. Plus, no other ‘seller’ has the amount of assets the Orioles have to offer. Think they have plenty to offer without selling the kitchen sink.
At the end of the day, Felix is just a relief pitcher on a bad team, and if you’re a bad team with a really good reliever that only has 2 more years of control after the current season, you should absolutely be shopping that guy to contenders at the deadline, especially when you desperately need young, high ceiling starting pitching and don’t have any on the horizon in the minors.
Bautista would bring back a huge return at the deadline, and if a team like Philly would part with a pitching prospect like Painter for him, you have to do that.
They would absolutely not part with Painter for Bautista straight up. That would be insanity.
You may very well be right Bruce, but the Marlins got 3 of a well-regarded San Diego system’s top 5 prospects for 2 months of Tanner Scott last year, so I don’t think it’s quite as crazy as you seem to think. Elite relief pitching is highly prized at the trade deadline, and the fact that he’s not a rental only makes him even more valuable. And he’s still cheap, so basically every contender remotely in need of bullpen help would be in on him, even the teams without much payroll wiggle room, and so I would expect the bidding to get pretty intense.
But I was simply using Painter as an example of the kind of near-ready, high ceiling SP prospect I would be looking for if I was going to move Bautista, not saying “Painter or bust.”
Are the Orioles so far below .500 that it’s already Fire Sale time?
Yeah, they kinda are. Baltimore debates are about how much of the house to tear down at this point. 😢
Pretty much.
I wouldn’t be shopping guys that still have a lot of control and are part of the young core (like Gunnar or Cowser) but guys with 2 or less years of control after 2025 (like Felix Bautista and the guys in their walk year like Eflin and Mullins) should absolutely be on the table.
Mick Abel showcase today in Philly
Ima be real, as much as they’ve said otherwise, it kinda already felt like that.
I wonder if they’ll just keep him up now and let Taijuan stick in the Pen…
Mick Abel and Andrew Painter to the Orioles for Cedric Mullins, Gregory Soto, Ramon Urias, Coby Mayo, and Cade Povich.
Who says no?
No.
It would be more of a “are you effin’ kidding me” kinda’ no, followed by “do not ever propose a trade to us again”. And then sending a bill for wasting my time…that kinda’ no.
Well, Bart Harley Jarvis for one, me for two… but most importantly- Philly. Philadelphia says no, but maybe not before the phone clicks.
Call the Braves about bringing Kimbrel back
Well, that’s disappointing. He joins Profar on the naughty list…
And yet Judge remains unscathed.
(Kidding!)
Why not give Painter a shot?
He’s still in his first year following surgery and going from a starting pitching routine to pitching several times per week is probably a bad idea for his development. …. Suarez and Sanchez have pitched in the relief before, though.
Getting shots is what caused this mess in the first place!
1. Sign David Robertson
2. Seriously think about which LH starter (Sanchez, Luzardo, Suarez) might make best high leverage October reliever & think about when to test that transition. (Your October rotation would still have Wheeler, two lefties, Nola and Painter to choose from. And Taijuan Walker still exists)
3. So no to the trade possibilities what would cost more than 1 top prospect. The farm ain’t deep. Look for a guy with good stuff rather than a name like Helsley. And strike early, before the deadline rush.
I think it has to be Suarez to the bullpen. I wouldn’t mess with Luzardo the way he is pitching and Sanchez is doing too well in the rotation. Suarez has done October relief before, and the Alvarado suspension justifies the Phillies putting him in the pen in his walk year. If they are worried about the PR and want to placate him, tell Suarez he can hit free agency without a QO in appreciation.
Signing guys after spring training hasn’t worked too well for the league the last few years.
A highlight from one of the several “best shape of his life” fluff articles written about Alvarado this spring: (worth googling, especially the Matt Gelb puff piece *eyeroll*)
“I had a great offseason,” said Alvarado after striking out two and hitting 100 mph in a 1-2-3 inning on Thursday. “I changed my routine about eating. I lost weight. Latin people, we eat a lot of rice and beans. I switched for more protein, veggies. I came in in good shape and I’m so happy about the result today.”
Protein, veggies, a little exogenous Testosterone sprinkled in for good measure. After last year’s “I’m f***ing fat” sound bite from a Phillies broadcast, I felt for the guy, but he went down the wrong path when he reached the crossroads of a contract year and declining performance.
The Phils have a $9M team option for him. They were probably going to pick that up.
And Alvarado was obviously hoping for a raise.
They could look into David Robertson. Nobody has signed him.
Jose can you see
By the dawn’s early light
But so proudly you failed
At the drug test receiving
Who’s pin stripes with the stars
Who strike out so damn often
Let me take a supplement
So I can go on vacation
And the rockets red glare
Swarbombs flying thru the air
Gave proof though the night
That the Braves are still there
Jose does that Star Spangled
Banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free
And the home of The Braves!
I think we just figured out whose playoff spot the Braves are taking.
Woof.
Hello Perry, is Kenley Jansen available now or in a month and a half?
Funny how players that aren’t Americans are the ones getting busted for PED. Try play dumb oh I didn’t know lol
What a dumb take.
Is it in any way inaccurate? Is noticing the obvious somehow dumb?
It’s true that non-American players test positive more often, but it shouldn’t be seen like their dumber or inferior than American players.
I would say anyone that gets caught cheating is dumb. I see your point in singling out latin born players.
There is a bigger risk reward for someone from a poor country.
Easier to get overseas. Probably buy it all over the counter for pennies on the dollar.
Give DRob a call and see how he’s feeling. Couldn’t be worse than anyone else in the Phillies pen.
3rd time I have seen this comment and now I am starting to think it isn’t such a bad idea. Pay $8 million to see how well an old guy can pitch by the All Star break after no spring training. Out of Rich Hill, Gibson and DRob I guess DRob is probably the safest bet.
This should accelerate the trade season.
Both the Braves and Phillies using PEDs to compete with the Mets, how funny.
“How funny” is it that Profar wasn’t a Brave when he was using PED’s. He was a Padre. Tested positive before signing w/Atlanta and his appeal was denied after the signing. Braves should be allowed to void the signing, but the MLBPA protects it’s cheaters.
You would think it was funny if it was a Met but I agree that PED users contracts should be voided when caught. At least you got Acuña coming back real soon.
@Mets: I actually wouldn’t think it was funny if he was a Met. I didn’t join in the posters above who were mocking the Phils for Alvarado’s suspension. I don’t blame teams for a players stupidity when it comes to steroid use. They’re cheaters trying to steal money from other players and the organization that’s unfortunate to employ them.
The only peoplewho get caught are the ones who have bad chemists. The good chemist are able to stay ahead of the testing. That’s why there’s always new steroids, and chemicals like SARMs, etc
😂🤣
Permanent bans
Only while they are breathing eh? …
🖖
Uh, if the Cubs sign Robertson they’ll keep him they need bullpen help…
Robertson represents himself. Could see him loving the chance to pitch for an upper tier team like Philly or Cubs at nice $$ given the urgency…..but not as a trade flip.
Big loss for them due to stupidity.
Cue the “I didn’t knowingly take this substance”. Blah, blah, blah.
Daniel Bard is unsigned.
And should remain so.
Poor decision making
The large majority of these players say they don’t know how they tested positive. I believe most of those players are lying, however what about the ones (if any) that are telling the truth? What a shame
Probably the best news for the Braves so far.
Dave Dombrowski needs a relief pitcher so he’ll acquire Rafael Devers.
Chris Taylor is available for league minimum!
Dom Brown was at the game yesterday, he’s available
Players know about testing so they need to be way more careful, like Olympic athletes.
I guess caffeine wasn’t the only thing he was taking
As a Phils fan this is a huge disappointment. As a fan of the game, one wonders how, after all of this time, a player wouldn’t run each and every supplement above the level of Advil through the club. As a guy that spent decades in many different dugouts however, it is hard to overestimate the level of stupidity when it comes to a lot of baseball players. I always loved them, but wow – there is a lot of dumb going on out there.
Okay – not quite m*gasphere dumb but you get the point.
The best idea that I have seen is David Robertson – they can weather the 4-6 weeks that it might take him to ramp up. There is no way that they should trade premium prospects for rental relief arms. They are stacked in the rotation, and have a bit of help that might step up on the farm.
This hurts, but they can weather it despite some of the idiotic posturing that I saw above from fans of other teams.
Alvarado = a dispicable cheater
Tyler Matzek is available on the cheap and he can close games out
I do not condone the use of PEDs in sports or use of any medications that are not essential for the maintenance of someone’s health. However, there have been proven instances in the wide wide world of sports where players have unwittingly taken drugs that were considered performance enhancers. There have also been proven instances when players actually required performance enhancers for the treatment of conditions like ADHD. So, a player testing positive for a PED is not always the sine qua non of someone trying to cheat the system.
Also, it is naive to think there aren’t a significant number of current professional athletes who continue to knowingly use performance enhancing drugs that aren’t tested for under current guidelines or are precursors to substances that are capable of enhancing performance after the ingested drug is metabolized in the body. Skilled chemists have long been able to create designer drugs that enhance athletic performance without being detected by conventional testing. Nature has too. In that regard, professional sports still lags science when it comes to performance enhancement.
Players having great seasons do not have to be using PEDs, just as players having poor seasons are not necessarily doing so because they suddenly stopped using PEDs. Unfortunately, the skeptics among us will continue to believe what they choose to believe, regardless of evidence or lack of evidence to the contrary.
Hall of Famer David Ortiz was one of one-hundred major league players who tested positive for a PED in 2003, one year before MLB established its rules on PED use. Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt admitted to using amphetamines prior to his retirement in 1989 and publicly stated that the use of amphetamines was once common among players of his generation. And yet, players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who helped redefine their sport, are being denied admission to the Hall of Fame as though their suspected PED use alone was responsible for their stellar performances. Would Bonds have still become one of baseball’s greatest hitters or Clemens one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers if they had never used PEDs? Methinks they would have.
There is a lot of hypocrisy that has accompanied the use of PEDs in professional sports. Unfortunately, there are still more questions than answers, allegations than proofs, and assumptions than facts surrounding this controversial issue.
You make some good points. However, every team and the league itself has nutrition handlers who can check the stuff against a banned list before you put it in your body. If you have medical needs, you can get a medical exemption note from a legitimate doctor. Want to boost your low testosterone levels at a men’s health and well-being clinic? Connect them with the team doctor first. There are no excuses for players.
creature, You’re absolutely right. In the vast majority of cases, there are no excuses. Those who continue to juice realize what they’re doing, as do their chemists who remain a step or two ahead of MLB. I’m sure designer drugs guaranteed to enhance performance and evade detection aren’t cheap but, if it’s one thing most big leaguers have, it’s money to burn. It must be hard for an honest player who is not using PEDs but having an unusually strong season to continue doing so realizing many fans suspect him of juicing. It must be equally difficult for an honest marquee player who is not using PEDs but having a down year to continue playing without the suspicion that he recently stopped juicing. The entire story of PED use in pro sports has more than its fair share of plots and subplots, with a strong likelihood of more being unknown about the subject than known. As Kelsey the bartender frequently reminded Mr. Bunker, “Arch, these is questions for bigger minds than ours.”
Time to bring back David Robertson.
Dave Dombrowski dial up Emmanuel Clase. There were rumors last offseason. Make it happen
If you need relief pitching you call Detroit. Tigers have lots of good young arms. But if you want to trade you need a 3B player who bats right handed or a trade is not likely because that is the only player Detroit needs.
Vierling will be the right handed 3B in a week or so. Not a real 3B, but better than Bohm. Also, why would the team with the best record in baseball be trading from its major league roster? Why not trade for a Dodgers arm?
Detroit doesn’t align with the Phillies, IMO.
Considering that they are both strong contenders for the playoffs, I would clearly agree.
Didn’t see this coming….team wasn’t really going anywhere this year anyway imo..maybe a third wc and one and done. Robertson and the Phil’s haven’t mixed well in the past but at least they won’t have to give up any prospects to get him…so why not.
Romano to closer, and a starter moves to the bullpen to take Domino’s old role.
Romano’s old role. I hate spell check.
This was no weight loss drug. Thats a hoax. I am not sure that the weight loss drugs are banned by MLB anyway like Ozempic, Weegovy etc. I cant see why they would be a banned substance. Nice cover story however.
There’s no reason weight loss drugs would avoid substances banned by MLB. I would be surprised if there weren’t a lot of weight loss drugs containing MLB-banned substances.
The issue is, why is a player taking anything without clearing it through their team’s trainers first? For quite a few years now they’ve been warned to clear any drugs because you never know what they may have traces of that’s not listed on the label.
It could be be as simple as a guy wanting his team’s trainers to think his weight loss is due to hard work and diet instead of drugs. Pride and embarrassment lead to poor decisions.
Or he is taking a drug to enhance his play, like on purpose and stuff.
Updated Penalties:
First offense
1. 243 game suspension
2. Forfeiture of remaining contract and the clubs option to do so within 162 games of reinstatement.
Second offense:
1. 3 yr suspension, never to sign more than a one year deal at min salary or lifetime ban. Players option
Piece of crap cheaters
Agree 100%
Is Coonrod free?
At this point, just ban them for life. They know the rules and still stick their tongues out at MLB. Start getting tougher.
$301M
?
I thought the Dom was good.
That’s BIG spending.
@MP – That is a hard no.