Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Josh Ravin became the sixth player suspended this year by Major League Baseball for violation of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Ravin, who is on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, was placed on the 60-day disabled list when the 2016 season began.
He missed the first few week of Spring Training with the flu and strep throat, which led to significant weight loss. His spring then abruptly come to an end after fracturing his left forearm in an auto accident in early March.
The injury was said to require an eight-to-12 week recovery. Ravin made his Major League debut last season, appearing in nine games with the Dodgers. He posted a 6.75 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and had 12 strikeouts over 9.1 innings pitched.
Ravin was 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and averaged 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings over 22 games (28 innings pitched) with Triple-A Oklahoma City last season.
According to J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News Group, Ravin’s statement, issued through the MLB Players Association, attributed his positive performance-enhancing drug test to attempting to quickly overcome the weight loss during Spring Training:
“During 2016 spring training, I came down with a severe case of intestinal flu and strep throat. I was put on antibiotics and lost a total of 20 pounds in less than seven days. To try and speed up my recovery, I took some supplements that I thought would help. Unfortunately, I was not as careful as I should have been and one of the supplements contained a banned substance.
“I later learned that the substance showed up in a regular drug test done of me during 2016 spring training. This has been a very painful lesson for me. I have always tried to avoid doing anything in violation of the system and I take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions and my bad judgment. So, I have decided to accept the suspension and continue my ultimate goal to be able to pitch again in the major leagues.”
While Ravin will not receive any salary for the duration of his suspension, he will continue to accrue Major League service time. The earliest he can be reinstated is Wednesday, Aug. 3.
He joins Cleveland’s Abraham Almonte, Miami’s Dee Gordon, New York Mets’ Jenrry Mejia, Philadelphia’s Daniel Stumpf and Toronto’s Chris Colabello as players who were suspended this year for PEDs. Mejia received a lifetime ban after testing positive a third time.
