Last season Major League Baseball increased the number of drug tests and with it came a rise in player suspensions. One of the more prominent players to face repercussion was Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon.
Less than one week after Gordon was disciplined, Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Josh Ravin was suspended 80 games for a positive PED test. Ravin at the time was on the disabled list, and said he unknowingly ingested a banned substance while taking supplements in effort to accelerate his recovery from strep throat and intestinal flu.
Nearly three weeks later, Dodgers Minor League pitcher Sebastian Martinez was suspended after testing positive for steroids and a diuretic.
The Dodgers are again losing another Minor League reliever, as Edward Perez has been suspended due to a positive PED test, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
Dodgers Minor League pitcher Edward Perez received a 72-game suspension without pay after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) April 4, 2017
Perez’s 72-game suspension will cost him the entire Dominican Summer League season. The 21-year-old has been with the affiliate the past three years.
Last season, Perez went 5-1 with a 1.69 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 17 walks and 35 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched across 21 games. The right-hander is a lifetime 9-5 with eight saves, a 3.42 ERA in 57 games (one start) for the DSL Dodgers.
