Jorge Polanco Gets 80-Game PED Suspension

“No one in baseball uses steroids or PED’s anymore, especially Latin-American players” — A group of people I debated with a year ago right now.

This time, it’s a guy I kind of took a shine too before the rest of the world was hip to him being a pretty good little player. Jorge Polanco of the Minnesota Twins is now suspended for 80 games after testing positive for PED’s.

As usual, the player didn’t really come clean in his admission of use.

“Today, I have regretfully accepted my 80-game suspension for testing positive for Stanozolol. To be clear, I did not intentionally consume this steroid. I now know, however, that my intention alone is not a good enough excuse and I will pay the price for my error in judgemental. The substance that I requested from my athletic trainer in the Dominican Republic and consented to take was a combination of vitamin B12 and an iron supplement, something that is not unusual or illegal for professional athletes to take. Unfortunately, what I was given was not that supplement and I take full responsibility for what was in my body.”

Yeah, sorry. I don’t believe it. It sucks because Polanco was turning into a pretty good little player. He hit 13 home runs and stole 13 bags last season with a .274 average. He’s an above-average shortstop defensively. The upstart Twins could definitely have used the guy all season.

Analysis:

I think more players are using performance enhancing drugs right now than some might like to believe – something I’ve mentioned openly before. I think especially; guys from some of the latin countries use more prevalently. Again, not sure the reasoning for this exactly.

But to just think that the rise in offense is simply from a juiced ball is a little negligent. I think it’s the perfect storm or combination of things. Especially at a time when more pitchers than ever are throwing in the high-90’s with devastating stuff.

Although it matters little, I find it hard to believe that any player at this level doesn’t know exactly what is going into their body. That always seems to be the play when you get caught – to say you didn’t know you took something. What else can really be said? It’s always the same song and dance. My trainer from _______ (insert Latin country here) gave me something I didn’t quite know the mixture and…… you get the just of it.

I hope the Twinkies can stay afloat in the absence of Polanco. They’ve had a tough offseason with some of the things that have happened to Miguel Sano, coming off their Wildcard appearance in 2017. They’re fun to watch, and easy to root for.