Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Josh Ravin was suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, Major League Baseball announced Monday afternoon. Ravin, 28, is on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.
“We are disappointed to hear that Josh has violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The Dodgers fully support MLB’s policy toward eliminating performance enhancing substances from the sport and, as per the Joint Drug Program, we will have no further comment on this suspension,” the Dodgers said in a released statement.
Ravin has endured a difficult stretch since making his Major League debut last June. Ravin’s brother was shot five times outside his home in West Hills, Calif., though did survive the attack.
Two men connected with the shooting were arrested in November. Then Ravin fell behind at Spring Training as he missed the first few days with the flu. The hard-throwing right-hander then was in an auto accident, during which he suffered a broken left forearm.
That effectively ended Ravin’s bid to make the Dodgers’ roster out of camp, and he was one of 10 players to begin the 2016 season on the disabled list; he was on the 60-day DL.
The injury was said to require an eight-to-12 week recovery; the accident took place in early March. However, considering Ravin didn’t have the opportunity to participate in Spring Training, his return to the mound wasn’t come until several weeks after that timeframe.
Ravin is a local product out of Chatsworth High School and was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB draft. He spent eight seasons in the Reds’ farm system before joining the Dodgers organization in 2014.
Ravin appeared in nine games last season, recording 12 strikeouts and posting a 6.75 ERA and 1.82 WHIP over 9.1 innings pitched. His suspension comes on the heels of Miami Marlins Dee Gordon also receiving an 80-game ban.
Gordon reportedly tested positive during Spring Training, but didn’t drop his appeal until after the Marlins completed a four-game sweep of the Dodgers. Per terms in the current Joint Drug Agreement, a player who is suspended during the regular season is not eligible for postseason play that same year.
Ravin is the sixth player suspended for violating MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program this year. Along with Gordon, the group includes Cleveland’s Abraham Almonte, New York Mets’ Jenrry Mejia, Philadelphia’s Daniel Stumpf and Toronto’s Chris Colabello. Mejia received a lifetime ban after testing positive a third time.
