A former Minnesota Twins player is facing a major suspension from Major League Baseball after testing positive for a banned substance.
Chris Colabello, who played for first base and outfield for the Twins, was suspended on Friday by Major League Baseball, though the news didn’t really come as a surprise to Colabello.
MLB.com reports that Colabello was suspended without pay after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone – sold under the name Turinabol.
Colabello issued a statement through the MLB Players Association that indicated that he’s known about the positive test for some time.
The Major League Baseball Players Association has released the below statement on behalf of Chris Colabello: pic.twitter.com/VaBrBoq9KH
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 22, 2016
The Associated Press notes that it is the same anabolic steroid that caused Philadelphia pitcher Daniel Stumpf to be disciplined last week.
The 32-year-old now plays for the Toronto Blue Jays and has gotten off to a slow start this season, hitting just .069 (2-for-29) and only one RBI.
He is the sixth player suspended this year under the MLB drug program. The suspension will cost him $227,891 of his 2016 salary.
“This is obviously an unfortunate situation that we are in with Chris,” said Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins Friday. “We believe in him as a person and a player. We also fully endorse the Major League Baseball drug testing policy.”
Colabello spent eight seasons bouncing around the minors and independent ball before he finally reached the big leagues in 2012 with the Twins. His most memorable moment in Minnesota was likely in 2013 when he blasted this home run in Tampa Bay, while FOX Sports Net was interviewing his parents in the stands on his mom’s birthday.
Toronto claimed Colabello after he was placed on waivers in December 2014.
He responded with his best season last year batting .321 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs in 101 games with the Blue Jays.
“Chris has overcome a great deal in his career and has been a key contributor to this team,” Atkins added. “While we are certainly disappointed with today’s news, we’re confident he’ll return ready to compete and will have taken the steps needed to ensure that this does not happen again.”
