Damian Taveras, NY Yankee Prospect, Suspended 50 Games for Using PEDs

(Zell's Pinstripe Blog)

Yankees prospect Damian Taveras was suspended for 50 games today. He tested positive for a performance enhancing drug that violated baseball’s Minor League Drug Prevention & Treatment program.

The exact substance was Stanozolol, which is an anabolic steroid. His suspension will start on the first day of the 2009 season. Taveras played with the Yankees’ Dominican Summer League affiliate in 2008, where he hit .229 with a HR and 19 RBIs.

Those numbers aren’t very impressive, but that’s besides the point. It’s sad to see all these young players ruining their careers early on by using these drugs. It’s a real shame.

Rotoworld reports:

Chris Britton- The San Diego Union Tribune reports that the Padres have added Chris Britton and Eliezer Alfonzo on minor league deals.

Britton is a legitimate major league reliever anyway, so Petco Park could make him look especially good. Alfonzo, the ex-Giant, will be a candidate to back up Nick Hundley. The Padres tend not to care very much about how well their catchers throw, so this is probably the best situation that was out there for Alfonzo.

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Yankees minor league affiliates Scranton & Trenton set their staffs