Blue Jays first round draft choice Marcus Stroman has been suspended for 50 games for violating the minor league drug prevention and treatment program, the team announced. Stroman, who obtained a $1.8MM bonus earlier in the summer, maintains that he “unknowingly ingested a banned stimulant that was in an over-the-counter supplement.” He wasn’t the only former first rounder suspended today. Josh Sale, who was selected 17th overall by the Rays in 2010, also obtained a 50-game suspension, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter).
Here are Tuesday’s links…
- “We’re continuing to assess our list of candidates,” said Astros GM Jeff Luhnow to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart about the club's managerial search. “We need someone that’s going to be good at teaching, someone good at inspiring and basically working with the front office and help us achieve our goal of becoming as competitive as possible."
- The Yankees hadn’t placed Alex Rodriguez on waivers as of yesterday morning, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports. Though the Yankees would like to dump Rodriguez and the $114MM remaining on his contract for luxury tax purposes, Davidoff says A-Rod and the Yankees have a pretty good relationship these days.
- ESPN officially announced an eight-year extension for the rights to broadcast MLB games. John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal reports that the deal is worth $700MM per year for a total of $5.6 billion. The deal also covers digital, international and radio rights.
- Four teams showed interest in Randy Wolf when he hit the free agent market, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Athletics were one of the teams with serious interest in Wolf before he agreed to sign with the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (on Twitter).
- ESPN.com's Keith Law previews the 2013 amateur draft class, suggesting it projects as one of the weakest in years. Mark Appel, the Pirates' first round selection in 2012, projects as a top talent for 2013 along with college right-hander Ryne Stanek.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
ESPN seems to me to be the sports equivalent of Fox News. They profit by their direct relationship with their subject matter (i.e., this rights extension) and so seem to feel they can write whatever they want, without the need for investigation or evidence.
edit
ESPN to me seems more like E! then anything else. Just sensationalizing everything going into things real sports fans dont care about. I am so happy I have MLB and NFL network.
I agree for the most part. MLB Network is fantastic, but when I want to catch up on whats going on in other sports and with other teams, have to turn to EPSN.
Ouch.. Stroman is a tiny dude.. maybe he thought needed a boost or something to continue throwing upper 90’s over an extended period?
i feel bad for the Jays and their fans.. they lost out on Beede last year and now, feeling lucky Stroman fell down to them have this happen.
So many analysts said he would be pitching this summer in Toronto,. Guess he had some extra help.
ya i heard methylhexaneamine ads 27 mph to your fast ball
Methylhexaneamine is a dietary drug, just like marijuana is a doping drug. They do not necessarily enhance performace like steroids but they are a banned substance. Maybe Strolman was trying to lose a few pounds and took the wrong drug.
read @twitter-50734931:disqus ‘s response, the drug doesn’t improve your skills, its a pick me up if anything, he took the wrong dietary drug, he should have consulted the trainers before taking anything.
Thanks. Bad mistake it looks like on his part. Wonder if he does appeal that any miLB player even has a chance of getting the suspension over turned? The league seems to not have an issue over turning it’s marquee players.. IE Braun when another type of non enhancing substance is taken.
I am looking forward to seeing Stroman pitch period and this was a shock for just that reason, not too mention the horrible luck they have had with just about everything the last 2 seasons.. Injuries, draft picks (1st) if the suspension holds.
doubt it, if i’m not mistaken, suspensions arent announced until they’re official so they probably already had a chance to appeal.
he’s still in the wrong for taking a banned substance, he’s just not a cheater.
Ignorance will never be a reason to overturn a suspension. It’s too big of a loop hole, and I’m sure MLB doesn’t want to introduce that kind of subjectivity into the matter either.
You’re also too cynical about the Braun thing. “The league” didn’t overturn its marquee player’s suspension. It was overturned by an independent arbiter (MLB voted to keep it, MLBPA voted to get rid of it, leaving, as always, the actual decision to a single arbiter) who had worked with MLB for years prior to this decision. MLB arbiters work by mutual consent, meaning if either party objects to an arbiter for any reason he’s gone, so for a guy to stick around for years means neither side views him as anything but fair. Still, MLB was so enraged by his decision that he has been replaced.
One thing it does due it helps with stamina and not losing fatigue remember he threw quite a few innings at Duke and is a small guy, I find it hard to believe that he did this unknowingly
he’s a reliever. and hes a young man, i’m sure he has lots of energy for an inning
his innings and body stature are insignificant
Bautista done for the year with wrist surgery also. Such a horrible year for the Jays this season.
(dwayne) murphy’s law.
Don’t get why the A’s would have serious interest in Wolf. Our internal options are much better than Wolf (Straily and Blackley) or equal (Ross, Peacock).
Wolf would’ve been a veteran presence to replace Colon. Also, the O.co probably would’ve been great for his pitch-to-contact style.
I agree. Wolf may have benefited from the spacious field at the Coliseum. If they did sign him however, I doubt he would go on the Major League roster, it would have been for minor league depth, with the Rivercats going to the PCL playoffs, and the A’s need to pull some of them for September call ups.
Victorino
Ethier
Kemp
Gonzalez
A-Rod
Ramirez
Ellis
Ellis
Not bad.
I doubt the Dodgers want to take on another $100M. Then again I never believed they’d take on $270M.
The Twins just placed Mauer on waivers, I’m sure they can trade the rest of their prospects for him once they finalize the A-Rod deal.
Mauer is starting to look like a very expensive, poor man’s Tony Gwynn. I can’t imagine anybody would claim him for fear the Twins would cut him loose for salary relief.
It should be noted that Stroman tested positive for a mild stimulant (Methylhexaneamine), while Sale tested positive for “methamphetamine and amphetamine.”
While both received the same suspension, one is a much more “cheaty” type of PED than the other…
Just saying…
Yeah, ‘lucky me, I shot myself in the foot with a .38 revolver instead of a Glock.’
Just saying…
I guess comparing apples to oranges makes sense.
Methamphetamine :
methylhexaneamine :: Glock : Water Pistol
DMAA is not a big deal if that’s what he tested positive for. It’s an ingredient in the supplement Jack3d. It’s nowhere nearly as potent as the ADD pills some guys have a prescription for.
Lefties have nine lives; Randy Wolf proved that. Hopefully he’ll be useful out of the bullpen for the O’s.
@Indestructible:disqus – sometimes you have to wonder if the Blue Jays are in the worst division possible…with the Orioles’ resurgence, and the idea that the Red Sox will soon rebound, where does that leave Toronto?
Funny, switch Toronto and Baltimore and that’s what we O’s fans have been hearing for years…
when I look at Cot’s, it looks like A-Rod is due more like $131 million