Cardinals pitcher among 3 players suspended

There is a risk for players who feel the need to use performance-enhancing drugs as they attempt to climb the career ladder in professional baseball. Players caught using drugs to improve their chances of advancing through the minor leagues and eventually reaching the major leagues see their dreams ended by a suspension from the Commissioner’s Office.

Rob Manfred’s office suspended three minor league players on Friday for taking doping substances that illegally and unethically increase a player’s chances of improving performance.

One of these players is Kener Perez, a minor league pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who is on the Dominican Summer League roster. Perez was suspended for 56 games after testing positive for stanozolol. While the use of performance-enhancing drugs has been quite sophisticated for nearly 20 years, stanozolol was one of the first performance-enhancing drugs used by athletes and is one of the most easily identified.

Perez will not be paid during his suspension, nor will San Diego Padres minor league pitcher Ibrahym Jimenez, who is on San Diego’s Dominican Summer League roster. Jimenez was caught taking nandrolone, another older performance-enhancing drug that is relatively easy to detect in testing labs. Jimenez will also be suspended for 56 games.

The contract-free minor league pitcher Yonathan Frias will also be suspended for 56 games for taking the performance-enhancing drug boldenone.

This drug, like Stanozolol and Nandrolone, violates the Drug Prevention and Treatment Program that applies to baseball players outside the United States and Canada.

The pitchers hoped to give themselves new momentum

Perez, 19, has a record of 1-4 with an ERA of 8.31 and a WHIP of 2.00 in seven appearances over 13 innings.

Jimenez, 17, has better numbers than Perez, posting a 1-1 record with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in seven games, including four starts.

Frias, 18, has appeared in 20 games over the past two seasons. The 6-foot-4 left-hander has a bloated 7.39 ERA and 2.50 WHIP. He has struck out 21 batters in 28 innings.

The 2024 season is undoubtedly over for all three pitchers. They will have a chance to overcome this suspension in the future.

Steve Silverman has covered the NFL for more than 35 years and his articles have appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including “Who’s Better, Who’s Best in the NFL.”