With opening day just a day away, Major League Baseball came down hard on four players who tested positive for a performance enhancing drug. The suspensions affect one team more than all of the others as three of the four players are free agents at this time. The team impacted is the Milwaukee Brewers, who will lose their catcher, Pedro Severino of Bonao, Dominican Republic for 80 games.
Severino reportedly tested positive for a fertility drug, Clomiphene. According to Alex Raskin of The Daily Mail, Severino took the drug because he and his wife were struggling to start a family.
Severino has not played with the Brewers as of yet. He signed a one-year deal worth $1.9 million with Milwaukee on November 30. This past season with the Baltimore Orioles, he batted .248 with 11 home runs and 46 runs batted in. During 379 at bats, Severino scored 32 runs, and had 94 hits, 18 doubles, 34 walks, 145 total bases, five sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .308, a slugging percentage of .383, and 145 total bases.
It should be noted that Severino was going to be the Brewers backup catcher anyways. That is because Omar Narvaez was an All-Star in 2021 after batting .266 with 11 home runs and 49 runs batted in with the Brewers.
The other three players suspended are Richard Rodriguez, Danny Santana, and Jose Rondon. Interestingly, all three other players tested positive for the drug Boldenone. Rodriguez, a native of Santiago, Dominican Republic, pitched 64 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves. He had a record of five wins and four losses with an earned run average of 2.94, and won the World Series.
Santana, a native of Monte Plata, Dominican Republic, struggled mightily at the plate as he batted .181 with five home runs and 14 runs batted in with the Boston Red Sox. Santana was used in the outfield and first base. Rondon, an infielder from Villa de Cura, Venezuela, batted .263 last season with three home runs and nine runs batted in with the St. Louis Cardinals.
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