Indians OF Abraham Almonte suspended 80 games for PEDs

While plenty of good news has come out of Goodyear, Arizona since the Cleveland Indians started their full squad workouts on Monday, the first dose of bad news was revealed Friday: outfielder Abraham Almonte has been suspended the first 80 games of the regular season due to testing positive for Boldenone, the team announced.

Boldenone is an anabolic steroid that violates Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

“We were disappointed to learn of the suspension of Abraham Almonte for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the Indians said in an organizational statement. “We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance-enhancing drugs from our game. Per the protocol outlined by Major League Baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, we will not comment further on the circumstances surrounding this announcement.”

The 26-year-old spent 51 games with the Indians in 2015 after he was acquired from San Diego in a trade that gave the Padres relief pitcher Marc Rzepczynski. With Cleveland, Almonte hit .264 with five home runs, 20 RBIs, six stolen bases, 33 strikeouts, and a .776 OPS in 178 at-bats.

In his three-year career, the outfielder has already been on three different teams. With Seattle, San Diego, and Cleveland, Almonte has posted a .244 average with 10 home runs, 48 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, 133 strikeouts, and a .675 OPS in 508 at-bats.

Almonte was expected to be a starter in Cleveland’s outfield while Michael Brantley is recovering from shoulder surgery .

Some of the good news though was despite Brantley initially expected to miss 5-to-6 months, he has recently said that his target return date is Opening Day. That news became bigger now that Almonte is out the first 80 games of 2016 though it is still an aggressive recovery date.

Almonte is the third major league player to be suspended for drugs so far in 2016. New York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia was given a permanent ban, and Cincinnati Reds prospect Juan Duran received an 80-game suspension, like Almonte. The Indians outfielder will be eligible to participate in Spring Training but will start his suspension at the start of the regular season on April 4.