Cincinnati Reds Rumors 2016: Outfield Prospect Juan Duran Suspended after Testing Positive
An outfield prospect from the Cincinnati Reds has been suspended by the league for 80 games of the season after testing positive for three performance-enhancing substances, the MLB recently announced. Juan Duran, who played for the Bakersfield Blaze of the Class A-Advanced California League in 2013, was reportedly busted with Drostanolone, Stanozolol, and Nandrolone in his system, prompting the league to hand out one of the stiffest punishments in recent memory.
With the announcement of the suspension, the Dominican professional baseball player officially became the first one to be meted out with a punishment under the big league program since Stanley Cody, then playing for St. Louis as a catcher was handed a suspension on Sept. 12.
Shortly after the MLB commissioner's press statement, the Reds also followed it up with the team's reaction to it. "The organization does not condone in any way the use of drugs prohibited under the policy."
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Before joining the major league ranks, the 24-year-old played in the minor leagues for eight long seasons. Although he signed with the Reds about eight years ago, he actually didn't get the chance to play in a major league game. However, he got the break he needed when the team added him to their 40-man roster back in 2013. Before that, he actually thrived in the minor leagues and then spent the latest couple of seasons as an option to the minors.
Duran also played in several exhibition games for the club, starting in 2011 up to last year, in the process producing two homeruns, five RBIs, and 14 strikeouts.
In August of 2014, he had a very serious injury scare after getting hit by a pitch, where he got a hairline fracture on his right arm, as well as suffered from torn ligaments. He was then placed for a rehabilitation assignment with the Arizona League Reds by June 20.
