PHOENIX – Milwaukee Brewers catcher Pedro Severino was suspended for 80 games without pay for using performance-enhancing substance clomiphene, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday.
Also known as clomid, clomiphene is an anti-estrogenic substance that helps women conceive. It is not approved by the FDA for use by men under any conditions but can change testosterone levels.
“The Milwaukee Brewers are joining Major League Baseball in an effort to eradicate performance-enhancing drugs from our game,” said David Sterns, head of baseball operations, in a statement released by the team.
“This organization fully supports MLB’s joint drug prevention and treatment plan. This time we will support Pedro and welcome him back to the end of his discipline.
28-year-old Severino, Nov. He signed a one-year, $ 1.9 million contract on the 19th, and worked as a backup for all-star Omar Norway after signing former long-term patent Manny Pina two days ago for a $ 8 million two-year deal.
Severino issued a statement through the Major League Baseball Players’ Association shortly after his suspension was announced.
“I recently learned that Major League Baseball tested positive for clomiphene, a banned substance under the Combined Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
“Since late 2020, my wife and I have failed to start a family. When we returned to the Dominican Republic after the 2021 season, we sought medical help to determine why we had not succeeded. One of the doctors I consulted recommended. I now know that the drug contains clomiphene.
“I accept responsibility for this mistake and have decided not to challenge my suspension. I have been a professional baseball player since I was 16 and have played in seven major leagues in seven seasons. I have been tested 100 times in my career. I made a mistake.
“I want to apologize to the Milwaukee Brewers organization, staff, my team and our fans for dropping you off. You will accept me in July and I hope we can conduct the second half better.”
Milwaukee’s pitchers did not like anything and needed to digest a lot of information in a short period of time.
The accelerated learning curve did not affect Severino’s offense, however, as he scored.435 with two home runs, nine runs batted and 1.306 OPS.
“Pedro has worked very hard for the last four weeks,” the council said. “I think he had a great camp on how hard he worked and how hard he worked. There was still going to be a process, but he covered a lot of land – maybe more than we expected.”
Having played 362 games in seven years in the major leagues, Severino is the .235 winner with 33 homers, 133 RBI and .677 OPS.
He comes from his best season – his third with the Baltimore Orioles – in which he created the .247 / 11/46 / .690 series.
If Severino leaves the film at least until the beginning of July, the Brewers’ next insiders are Mario Feliciano and Brett Sullivan, who have teamed up for a big league blade look.
The council had previously told the camp that it saw Feliciano and Sullivan on an equal footing in the deep table, despite Milwaukee’s 7th overall chance, according to the Journal Sentinel.
The right-handed striker, Feliciano made his debut in the Brewers last May. He was sent back to Class AAA Nashville after one game, however, missed two months due to a shoulder stumbling block.
“Mario has been an opportunity for a long time in our company and he is always young for his position,” Sterns said. “He’s an incredibly talented kid, and we know him well.
“Mario’s key is to stay on the field. Due to some of the injuries he suffered during his career, he did not accumulate the amount of playing behind the blade and the number of blade appearances you would like to see.
“Catching is very experiential learning, and he’s not getting it yet. We’re sure he can make up for the time he lost doing it this year.”
Sullivan, a left-handed striker, signed a one-year deal with the Brewers in 2021 after scoring .223 / 9/35 / .678 in 90 games with Durham in 2021.
He has recorded 593 games for minors since he was drafted in the 17th round in 2015.
“Fred is a guy we brought up because we hope he can help at the big league level,” Sterns said. “It’s a good zone-control bat; he has proven it throughout his minor-league career. He has consistent versatility and we believe he’s progressed behind the plate.
“So, if we had to go with one of those people, we would be comfortable doing that, I think any of them could handle a big league staff now.”
There is also the possibility that Milwaukee may seek to add a senior backup through a discount claim or trade. Sternes said Brewers had been aware of the suspension since Monday, when Severino told them.
“Right now, we’m looking at two internal options, Mario and Sully, and we’ll evaluate what might be available externally,” Sterns said. “At this time of year, two days before the opening day, it is not ideal for a particular group to look for need, but we are already actively engaged in conversations.
“We’ll see if anything comes up in the next 24-48 hours, otherwise we have confidence in what’s in store locally.”
Considering that Milwaukee will open its season Thursday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, the consultant was asked about the worst time of the suspension.
“I don’t care,” he said. “We’re going to do things on the fifth day of the season, on the 10th day of the season.
“Things are going to happen. Players are going to get injured or not available, that’s part of a baseball season.”
The council also said it would not lean too much on Norway in the absence of Severino. Last season All-Star, Norway played in 123 games, 100 starts at Catcher.
“I think it’s wrong to ask Omar to do more,” he said. “I think it was a mistake on our part, especially a season earlier.”