Baseball: Jays launch probe after minor leaguers test positive for steroids

The Toronto Blue Jays have launched an internal investigation after a rash of positive drug tests by minor leaguers.

Six players in the organization have been disciplined over the last week for testing positive for a steroid called Boldenone, according to Sportsnet.

The minor leaguers all started the season with the Jays’ Dominican Summer League team. A seventh player on the DSL team — pitcher Luis Pena — tested positive Sept. 1 for traces of Stanozolol metabolites. That leaves the Jays with a new franchise high mark for positive tests.

Baseball has handed out 79 drug bans this season.

Toronto is now looking at an abnormal spike in positive drug tests, principally in the lower rung of its minor leagues: Six other minor lea- guers were suspended in 2016 for either banned substances, drug abuse, or failure to submit to a drug test. Coupled with the six positive tests for a banned steroid this week, the Jays have now seen 13 players come under major league baseball’s drug testing program in the past two seasons.

Before last season, the Blue Jays had a total of 18 players test positive over 10 years since MLB’s drug test- ing program was introduced in 2005.

Former Jays major league outfielder Chris Colabello was the only major leaguer to be disciplined under the major league drug program. Colabello was suspended in early 2016 when traces of a testosterone derivative were found in his system (Colabello steadfastly denied knowing how the substance got into his system).

“This situation is very disappointing and disturbing to the organization; disappointing that the players made these choices, but more so disturbing that some failure of our environment allowed this to happen,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told Sportsnet.

“It is our responsibility to create an environment and culture where our players know that PED use is not condoned, and to give them resources and education to ensure that they do not make these decisions.”