Pannone Suspended 80 Games for Positive PED Test

Photo credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2018, 17:50 EDTUpdated: Dec 19, 2022, 19:53 EST
Major League Baseball has announced that Blue Jays left-handed pitching prospect Thomas Pannone, acquired at the trade deadline last year from Cleveland in the Joe Smith trade, has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the performance enhancing substance Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.
If that substance sounds familiar – but I mean, why would it – it’s because Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, also known as Oral Turinabol, was found in 1B/DH Chris Colabello’s system during Spring Training in 2016. Colabello waited – and played – for about a month during his appeal process, but it was eventually denied and we never saw him in a Blue Jays uniform again. We remember the drama following Colabello’s positive test: he swore up and down he didn’t know how the drug that gained notoriety in the ‘70s and ‘80s after state-sponsored Olympic doping in East Germany got inside of him, going far enough to get his dog’s urine and blood tested.
That same spring, two other pitchers were suspended for Oral Turinabol; Kameron Loe, who was in the White Sox system at the time, and Phillies farmhand Daniel Stumpf. Of course your thinking is always “innocent until proven guilty,” but I’m really wondering how these players were able to get a hold of a drug that isn’t legally made in the US anymore.
For the Blue Jays, it means that they free up a spot on the 40-man roster. John Axford looks like he’s got a spot in the bullpen, so if the Blue Jays don’t move Tulowitzki to the 60-day disabled list, Axford can still join the team without designating anybody for assignment.
Pannone pitched six innings in major league camp, surrendering five earned runs, striking out four and walking none. He was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo last week.
Pannone has since issued a statement to his Twitter claiming his innocence.
Recent articles from Nation World HQ
Breaking News
- Blue Jays gain early offseason win with Shane Bieber opting in
- Shane Bieber forgoes free agency, opts into $16-million 2026 player option
- Should the Blue Jays re-sign Bo Bichette?
- Former Blue Jays reliever Josh Walker signs one-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles
- What’s next for Blue Jays following World Series Game 7 heartbreak?
