Pablo Reyes Suspended 80 Games For PED Use

Bucs utility player Pablo Reyes was outrighted to Indianapolis earlier this year after a less-then-stellar call-up to the Pirates last September despite showing fielding diversity.

It was announced today that he’s been suspended for 80 games—half of an MLB season for those marking their scorecards—for PED use.

The suspension comes after Reyes tested positive for Boldenone, a slightly modified version of the steroid testosterone.

Reyes, 26, had not been invited to Pirates spring training in Bradenton this year. He was desingated for assignment on January ninth and outrighted to Indianapolis on January sixteenth.

This was Baldenone’s second casualty in 2020 and the third overall PED suspension this season. Houston Astros pitcher Francis Martes was also busted for the steroid this year and is gone for the season because it’s his second offense, while Colorado Rockies minor league pitcher Justin Lawrence recieved the same punishment as Reyes after testing positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, or DHCMT.

The right-handed Reyes hit .203/.274/.322 with two homers over 71 games with the Major League club in 2019 per MiLB.com. The site quotes that “during his time at Triple-A Indianapolis, he showed a much more promising bat, hitting. 286/.342/.543 with 10 homers over 51 games. The Dominican Republic native also featured in 18 games for the Bucs as a September call-up in 2018, in which he batted .293/.349/.483.”

Reyes was unlikely to be called up by the Bucs during the first half of the 2020 season, but you can bet that upper management will be casting a jaundiced eye on a second-half call-up after this.