Veteran Adams suspended for 100 games

Veteran second baseman Ryan Adams, released earlier this month by the Dodgers, was handed a 100-game suspension Thursday for a performance-enhancing drug by Major League Baseball.

Adams, who reached the Majors in 2011 with Baltimore, received a 100-game suspension without pay after testing positive for an amphetamine in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said the suspension will be effective immediately upon Adams signing with a Major League organization.

The 27-year-old appeared in 45 games this season, mostly with Double-A Chattanooga in the Dodgers' system. He hit .310 with a homer, 10 RBIs and a .369 on-base percentage over 129 at-bats. His last start came July 5 during a rehab appearance with Los Angeles' Arizona League affiliate, but he was released by the organization on July 10.

The 100-game ban marks the second suspension for Adams -- he was given a 25-game suspension on Nov. 2, 2012 after testing positive for a banned amphetamine while on the Orioles' 40-man roster and was forced to serve the penalty at the start of the 2013 season, a year in which he did not appear in any games. He debuted with the Dodgers this season on April 19.

Adams was the Orioles' second-round pick in the 2006 Draft out of Jesuit High School in New Orleans and worked his way through the system before appearing in 29 games for Baltimore in 2011, when he hit .281 with seven RBIs. He returned to the Minors in 2012 and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent this past January.

Adams is the 37th player to be suspended in 2014 for violating the Minor League drug program and the sixth to receive a 100-game ban.