Angel Minor Leaguers Suspended for Steroid Use

Four Angel prospects were among the 38 minor league players suspended Monday for being in violation of baseball’s minor league steroids policy.

William Collazo, a pitcher for double-A Arkansas; Francisco Cordova, a pitcher for Class-A Cedar Rapids, and infielders Ryan Leahy and Baltazar Lopez of Cedar Rapids each received 15-day suspensions without pay as first-time offenders.

Damian Moss and Ryan Christianson were among eight players in the Seattle organization suspended for 15 days.

“We’re obviously very disappointed and not happy about it at all,” Seattle General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “On the other side of the coin, we’re like everybody else. We want this cleaned up.”

Oakland’s David Castillo was suspended for 60 games, the penalty for a third violation. All the others were suspended for 15 games, the ban given to first-time offenders.

“I think you’ll see more announcements,” Bavasi said. “That’s a guess on my part. They tested, they got results. I think this is going to go on through the year and hopefully the numbers are going to drop.”

Seven of the 38 positives came from the Chicago Cub organization, five each from the Angels, Oakland and Texas, and four from San Diego. There were two from Colorado and one each from St. Louis and the Chicago White Sox. Alexander Francisco was released by the Angels.

All those teams train in Arizona, except for the Cardinals.

“The release speaks for itself,” said David Forst, Oakland’s assistant general manager. “The program is in place and it’s working.”

The commissioner’s office said one suspension was the result of off-season testing and the rest stemmed from 925 tests conducted during spring training.

Last year, about 1.7% of the minor league tests for steroids were positive, baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said. Courtney did not know whether some teams had more players than others tested during spring training.

“We’re all concerned about the same thing, and that is getting to the day where we test and have no positive tests,” Bavasi said.

On Sunday, Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez was suspended for 10 days, becoming the first major league player penalized under the sport’s toughened testing rules. Sanchez began serving the suspension Monday.

Players with minor league contracts, who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, are tested for more banned substances. Amphetamines are on the minor league banned list but are not covered by the major league policy.

Ten of the minor league players suspended have been released.

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Third baseman Aramis Ramirez and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a $42-million, four-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2009.

Ramirez batted .318 with 36 home runs and 103 runs batted in last season and would have been eligible to become a free agent at the end of this season.

Acquired by the Cubs in a 2003 midseason deal with Pittsburgh, Ramirez has driven in 100 runs or more in three of the last four seasons. He has batted .273 with 127 homers and 458 RBIs.

His new deal supersedes the $8.95-million, one-year contract he had agreed to earlier this year.

“It’s a good feeling knowing that I’m going to be here for four more years,” Ramirez said, “and get this over with and just go and play baseball.”

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The New York Mets put right-hander Kris Benson on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained chest muscle. Benson had been scheduled to pitch the Mets’ third game this season.

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Tampa Bay signed four-time Gold Glove catcher Charles Johnson to a one-year contract.

Johnson, 33, was traded from the Colorado Rockies to Boston last week but the Red Sox released him.