Major League Baseball announced on Monday that Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Josh Ravin tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. As a result, he will be suspended 80 games without pay.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports initially reported the news and cited sources who said the pitcher “tested positive for a banned peptide.”
Ravin issued a statement after the ruling, via Jill Martin of CNN:
Passan noted Ravin is the sixth major league player to be disciplined for performance-enhancing drugs this year. Ravin is yet to appear in a game in 2016 because he broke his arm in a car accident at spring training.
Despite his injury, Ravin is on the Dodgers' 40-man roster and was expected back in May, per Passan. Now he will not be available to join the bullpen until after July’s All-Star break.
In addition to Ravin, Passan said Miami Marlins star and defending National League batting champion Dee Gordon, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello, Cleveland Indians center fielder Abraham Almonte and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Daniel Stumpf were suspended for 80 games for PEDs.
What’s more, New York Mets relief pitcher Jenrry Mejia tested positive for a third time in February and was given a lifetime ban.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander responded to the Gordon suspension on Twitter (warning: contains NSFW language): “This PED s--t is killing me. If you test positive, you need to not play. You shouldn't be allowed to [affect] games while appealing.”
Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com described MLB’s testing system as “a drug-testing program that has instituted harsher penalties several times over the years and remains the strictest PED system in American professional sports.”
As for Ravin, he made his major league debut for the Dodgers last season and pitched 9.1 innings with a 6.75 ERA, 12 strikeouts and a 1.82 WHIP. Passan said the 28-year-old righty was in the minor leagues for a decade before he finally broke into the majors in 2015.
Ravin has a plus-fastball (Passan described it as a pitch that “touched 99 mph”), and when he returns, he could bolster a Dodgers club that is a middling 16th in the league in bullpen ERA as of Monday, per ESPN.com.
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