Brewers Pitcher Suspended For PEDs For Second Time In Career

Milwaukee Brewers reliever J.C. Mejia has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 162 games following a positive test for Stanozolol, a banned substance.

Mejia is currently on the 60 day IL for the Brewers. He went on the IL with shoulder inflammation back on August 13th and was recently transferred to the 60 day to clear a 40 man roster spot.

This is Mejia's second suspension for PEDs following a positive test for Stanozolol. He first tested positive back in May 2022 and was banned for 80 games as a member of the Brewers. He appeared in two games for the Crew that season.

The Brewers re-signed Mejia to a minor league contract over the winter, opting to give him a second chance, and Mejia was pitching well in the minors, and earned a call up to the big leagues, appearing in nine games this year with a 5.56 ERA before going down with an injury.

Brewers reliever J.C. Mejia has been suspended for steroids for a second time and he's running out of chances.

Under the current MLB drug testing program, a player gets three strikes, essentially. A first positive test results in an 80 game suspension. A second failed test results in a 162 game suspension. A third failed test, and the player is permanently banned from professional baseball. Mejia is on strike two.

Two failed tests in two years is not a good sign for a pitcher that's still struggling to gain a foothold in the major leagues. One could potentially just be a mistake, but a second failed test for the exact same substance is a trend and it's not a good one.

Mejia won't be eligible to pitch in the big leagues again until late in the 2024 season, and odds are no one will sign him until either close to that or will simply wait until that next offseason, hoping to bring him in for the 2025 season on a minors deal looking to prove himself once again. But interested teams aren't likely to be lining up at the door as soon as he's eligible to return.

Mejia has good stuff and with his arm talent, perhaps someone will give him a chance, but the Brewers are highly likely to be moving on after this. Milwaukee gave him a second chance after his positive test last season and he's ruined that chance with this positive test.

He's still young at 27 years old, but he's struggled in his limited time in the bigs and now the baggage of two positive PED tests is a lot for any other team to potentially take on.