Advertisement

Jesus Montero suspended 50 games for use of banned substance

Former Mariners catch Jesus Montero takes a throw at the plate before tagging out the Angels' Mark Trumbo during a game in 2014.
(Otto Greule Jr. / Getty Images)
Share via

Former major leaguer Jesus Montero has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a stimulant, his second penalty for a banned substance.

Montero spent this season with Toronto’s triple-A Buffalo team, batting .317 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs. He was a designated hitter and first baseman at Buffalo, where he was picked as an International League All-Star.

The MLB commissioner’s office made the announcement Thursday. Because the minor league season is over, the suspension will take effect at the start of next year.

Advertisement

Montero tested positive for dimethylbutylamine.

In August 2013, Montero drew a 50-game drug ban — he was among several players disciplined by Major League Baseball for their relationship to Biogenesis of America, a Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs.

The 26-year-old Montero made his big league debut with the New York Yankees in 2011 and was traded to Seattle after the season for pitcher Michael Pineda. Montero played for the Mariners last year.

In 2014, Montero was sent home by the Mariners late in the season after having a run-in with a Seattle scout at a minor league game.

Advertisement

Etc.

Massachusetts officials are moving to name a bridge in honor of retiring Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. The House of Representatives has approved a supplemental budget that includes language that would rename the Brookline Avenue Bridge the David Ortiz (Big Papi) Bridge. The bridge spans the Massachusetts Turnpike between Landsdowne Street and Newbury Street, near Fenway Park. …

Advertisement