MLB Set To Announce More PED Suspensions After Dee Gordon And Chris Colabello

Major League Baseball is reportedly expected to announce soon that another player has tested positive for the steroid Turinabol, according to ESPN. Additional announcements are also expected to follow this one.

MLB Reportedly Set To Announce More PED Suspensions

Recently, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello and Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon both received 80-game suspensions for positive PED tests. Colabello tested positive for Turinabol.

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Daniel Stumpf was also given an 80-game ban for the steroid, which was commonly used by East German Athletes in the 1970s.

MLB is currently investigating the cause of the sudden increase in Turinabol busts. ESPN reported the following:

Two possible explanations exist for why positive tests are spiking, sources said: better testing technology and/or a supplement taken by athletes.

Testing for Turinabol took a major leap forward two years ago, and as anti-doping labs have adopted the technology, users apparently didn’t get the word. …

Besides the improved testing, there is another possible culprit for the recent spike in Turinabol positives, though sources told Outside the Lines it’s a bit more speculative.

The supplement Alpha-4D, sold by Shredded Labs, includes an oral form of Turinabol. None of the players who tested positive has said he used the product, but it was placed on the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s “high risk” supplement list in March 2014 and is the one over-the-counter product that has been identified by the agency as containing the drug.

Although the unnamed players who have tested positive for the drug have been informed of their respective suspensions, although it is still unknown exactly how many tested positive or when the suspensions will be announced, ESPN stated. Anyone on a team’s 40-man roster has the right to appeal, which can delay a suspension by several weeks.

“The window of detection has moved out to, typically, several weeks, and in some rare circumstances up to months after administration,” said Daniel Eichner, the president of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in Utah, which works with most major sports leagues.

Therefore, players who may have used the drug without detection for years are now finding themselves suddenly vulnerable to testing.

MLB officials declined to comment on the recent tests, citing the program’s confidentiality. Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark did not return a message seeking comment.

PHOTO: TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 21: Chris Colabello #15 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a solo home run in the second inning against the Kansas City Royals during game five of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on October 21, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)