Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but a player in the Milwaukee Brewers organization has been suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. The culprit this time is minor league pitcher Braudin Ciprian. He tested positive for stanozolol, a synthetic steroid derived from testosterone. Athletes use the anabolic steroid to build muscle mass and bounce back quicker from workouts.
Brewers Minor League pitcher Braudin Ciprian, who is on the roster of the Dominican Summer League Brewers, has received a 60-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol, MLB announced today. Effective at the start of 2023.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) September 23, 2022
Who is Braudin Ciprian?
Ciprian is a pitcher most recently with the Milwaukee Brewers’ Dominican Summer League first team, or DSL Brewers 1. The DSL teams are Rookie affiliates of the Brewers. He is now on the restricted list and will serve a 60-game suspension without pay beginning at the start of 2023.
To date, Ciprian has had fairly minimal impact on the Brewers’ organization. He was signed to a minor league contract July 16 of last year and has pitched 23.2 innings over 20 games across his two summer seasons. In that time, he’s gone 1-3 with a 5.32 ERA between DSL Brewers 1 and 2.
A Troubling Pattern in the Brewers Organization?
As alluded to above, this suspension isn’t a novelty in the Brewers organization. Just this season, Pedro Severino missed 80 games after testing positive for clomiphene. Severino allegedly took the steroid unknowingly to combat infertility during the offseason. As a result, Severino rendered himself redundant as the Brewers brought in Victor Caratini. He was designated for assignment after playing just 8 games and currently plays with AAA Nashville.
In May of this year, pitcher JC Mejia was suspended for 80 games, also for stanozolol, like Ciprian. Mejia has primarily been playing in AAA this season since returning from his suspension. Like Severino, the reliever’s suspension includes a post-season ban. Thus, it’s unlikely he’ll be called up to the bigs this season as the regular season opportunities are dwindling.
Perhaps most famously, Ryan Braun used performance-enhancing drugs during his 2011 MVP season. When the news came out in 2013, Brewers fans were shocked to their core. Braun and the entire franchise were on the receiving end of much criticism from around Major League Baseball. Braun’s legacy is controversial to this day as a result of his banned substance scandal and ensuing coverup.
It remains to be seen how the Brewers will handle the situation once Ciprian finishes serving his 60-game suspension. Is Ciprian just the latest in Brewers players trying to get away with using banned substances to cheat the game? Or is this a Major League baseball problem, not a Brewers’ problem?
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