Sergio Mitre Gets 50-Game Suspension

Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre claims that an over-the-counter substance caused him to violate baseball’s drug policy, earning him a 50-game suspension.

Like nearly every other ball player caught, Mitre says he’ll take “full responsibility” for his actions, but claims he tested positive for androstenedione after buying a legal product at a GNC.

“Although being suspended for 50 games is tough to accept, I think that it is important to understand that I am in full support of drug testing in baseball,” Mitre said in a statement released through his agent, Paul Cobbe.

“I did take the supplement in question and accept full responsibility for taking it. What has been difficult for me to understand is that I legally purchased this supplement at GNC and had no intention nor desire to cheat or to circumvent the system in any way.

“As confirmed through the drug testing and grievance processes, it contained a ‘contaminant’ amount of an illegal, performance-enhancing drug. This was not listed as an ingredient on the packaging, should not have been in the supplement and certainly should not have been available for legal purchase at a store.”

The players union is upset with this and with JC Romero’s suspension. They say that both took over-the-counter drugs which had traces of this substance. In reality, however, we will never really know if that is 100 percent true, and it most likely isn’t.

Fans might remember Androstenedione, or Andro, after it was made famous by Mark McGwire in 1998, when he took it right out in the open. I’m under the impression that it is still legal to take, but Major League Baseball banned the substance in 2004 as part of its new substance abuse policy.

This suspension doesn’t mean much for the Yankees. Mitre was not part of their 40-man roster and was signed to a split contract which would earn him $1.5 million if he made the major league team.

He has also been injured since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery in July, so he was not expected to return anytime soon. He will not be paid while under suspension, but will not miss any baseball once he is healthy enough to return because he can serve the suspension while on the DL.

So the Yankees will not be affected at all while Mitre will lose about $60,000 to $70,000 worth of pay and there will be a slight hit to his reputation. These days people barely remember that Andy Pettitte was named in the Mitchell Report; they are not going to remember some fringe pitcher getting caught.