Henry Roldán
The MLB commissioner’s office on Tuesday suspended pitchers Matt Harvey and JC Mejia for violating Major League Baseball’s policy on the use of prohibited substances.
As revealed by the league, Harvey was handed a 60-game suspension, retroactive to April 29, due to distribution of a prohibited drug under MLB policy, while Mejia received an 80-game ban for testing positive for Stanozolol.
Matt Harvey and the Tyler Skaggs case
The experienced Baltimore Orioles pitcher was suspended by MLB after he confessed last February in front of a court that he had given Percocet to former Anaheim Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died in 2019 due to an overdose.
Harvey, who just signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles, made the remarks while testifying at the trial of former Angels employee Eric Kay, who was convicted of trafficking of a controlled substance, which resulted in Skaggs’ death. Prosecutors said Kay supplied the pitcher with the fentanyl-laced pills, which led to his death.
Harvey’s career was hampered by injuries and physical problems after a promising start with the New York Mets; now, at 32 years old, he must overcome this new challenge and try to return to the Major Leagues with Baltimore, a team that has stated that it is willing to give him the opportunity once his sanction is completed.
J.C Mejía, a positive for substances in Milwaukee
The suspension of reliever JC Mejía is another blow to the Milwaukee Brewers, a team that earlier this season saw catcher Pedro Severino also banned for 80 games after testing positive for Clomiphene.
Mejia was acquired from the Cleveland Guardians in November of last year with the goal of adding depth to the team’s middle reliever. However, after a strong start in the minors, Mejia was called up last week and was hit hard, a situation that had already brought concern to Milwaukee before receiving this harsh news.
To replace the Dominican, the Brewers called Trevor Kelley from Triple A, a right-hander who, despite having a good performance this year in the minors, is a real unknown for the bullpen, leaving an ERA of 9.26 in 11.2 previous innings with the big team.
