Milwaukee Brewers pitcher J.C. Mejia after allowing a home run to Pirates' Bryan Reynolds in 2023. Photo by Aaron Gash via The AP
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher J.C. Mejia has been suspended for 162 games following a positive PED test.
The suspension comes following Mejia’s second positive PED test, after he tested positive for Stanozolol, a banned drug. Mejia is the first major league player to be suspended this year, and the first since Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended for 80 games last August.
On May 17 of last year, Mejia was suspended for the first time for 80 games. He tested positive for Stanozolol then, and apparently did not learn his lesson. Stanozolol is a steroid which is a synthetic derivative of testosterone, supposedly strengthening a player.
“The Milwaukee Brewers fully support MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and share in the goal of eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game,” Brewers president Matt Arnold said via a statement.
The Dominican right-hander is in the midst of his third big league season. He pitched briefly this year, posting a 1-0 record in nine appearances, with a 5.56 ERA. However, his career ERA is 8.32, and he has been out with an injury since August 15, so perhaps the steroids did not help much.
The Brewers currently sit in first place in the NL Central division, with an 86-66 record. They sit seven games ahead of the Cubs with ten to play. Therefore, barring an epic collapse, the division is all but theirs. Mejia has barely factored into their season, and will not factor at all next year.
