Rays' Olmedo-Barrera among five suspended
Rays Minor League outfielder David Olmedo-Barrera and veteran pitcher Antonio Bastardo were among five players suspended for drug-related violations on Friday, MLB said.Seattle's Yeisel De Los Santos, Atlanta's Joselin Vallejo and the Cubs' Saul Vazquez all received 72-game suspensions in the Dominican Summer League for their positive tests.
Rays Minor League outfielder
Seattle's
Olmedo-Barrera, who had been placed on the restricted list earlier this month, was handed an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), a performance-enhancing substance.
Bastardo, who is currently a free agent, received a 140-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol -- it was his second violation of the Major League Baseball Drug Program involving a performance-enhancing substance. The Office of the Commissioner said the suspension will conclude at the end of the 2018 Minor League season.
Olmedo-Barrera, 24, was hitting .242 with two homers, 17 RBIs and nine doubles in 40 games with Class A Advanced Charlotte in the Florida State League. He was the Rays' 12th-round pick in the 2015 Draft out of Cal State Fullerton and has since appeared in 270 Minor League games.
Bastardo, 32, signed a Minor League deal with the D-backs in January but was released during Spring Training on March 20. He appeared in nine Major League games with the Pirates in 2017 along with a dozen appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis. The right-hander is 27-20 with a 4.01 ERA in 419 career Major League games with the Phillies, Mets and Bucs.
De Los Santos and Vallejo both tested positive for Stanozolol. De Los Santos, who turned 17 in February, signed with the Mariners on May 11 out of the Dominican Republic and has allowed five runs in two innings over four DSL games. Vallejo, 18, has appeared in six games with the DSL Braves after signing on June 11. He had six strikeouts and seven walks while allowing two runs in nine innings.
Vazquez, who turned 18 on June 25, inked a deal with the Cubs last July 28 and made his DSL debut on June 6 of this season. The left-hander, who was 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings, was flagged for Nandrolone, a performance-enhancing substance.
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow his MLBlog column, Minoring in Twitter.