From www.foxnews.com- Manny Ramirez will be suspended for 50 games beginning today after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.
Ramirez, a 12-time All-Star who signed a two-year, $45-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in March, is expected to attribute the test results to medication he received from a physician for a personal medical matter, a source close to the matter told the Los Angeles Times.
The commissioner’s office did not immediately announce the exact violation by Ramirez. The hulking right-handed outfielder with 533 career home runs will not be eligible to return to the team until July 3, the Times reports.
The suspension follows Alex Rodriguez’s acknowledgement in February that he used steroids from 2001 to 2003.
Calls to Scott Boras, Ramirez’s agent, were not immediately returned Thursday.
According to Major League Baseball’s drug policy, a player receives a 50-game suspension for a first positive drug test, a 100-game suspension for a second positive test and a lifetime ban for a third positive test. The suspensions are without pay.
