MLB

A Rays Minor League Outfielder Has Been Suspended 50 Games For Refusing To Take A Drug Test That Could Have Led To A 50-Game Suspension

Outfielder Cody Rogers was a 7th round draft choice of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009 and has yet to break through to the majors. The 24-year-old batted .244 this past season for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, a Rays Single A affiliate, with 4 HRs, 38 RBIs and 39 runs scored. Though he is currently on the Triple A Durham Bulls roster, he played the entire 2012 season with Charlotte.

All of which is to say that Cody Rogers isn’t a particularly memorable baseball player, at least in terms of baseball. He is noteworthy for another, less flattering reason, however. He’s been suspended 50 games because of a violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Fine fine, we led you a bit astray there. 50 games, as you might know, is the suspension length for first-time PED users. But it’s also the suspension length for first-time drug test refusers, which is the category to which Rogers applies. Apparently he flat out refused to take a drug test during this offseason and has been suspended accordingly.

We can’t really think of any other reason for refusing a drug test than to avoid being caught as a drug user. Except the punishment and subsequent public assumptions are mostly the same, so maybe Rogers would have been better off hoping he passed by some miracle. And Rogers has been playing baseball for a few years now, so it’s safe to assume that he’s taken and passed more than a few drug tests. So again, the only thing that could have (un)reasonably changed his attitude is PEDs.

In any case, just know that a minor league baseball player was suspended for 50 games for refusing to take a drug test that could have gotten him suspended for 50 games.

[@BillShaikin, MLB]

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