Wall Street Journal writer Jared Diamond and MASN’s Mark Zuckerman reported around the same time this morning that Washington Nationals’ catcher Tres Barrera has received an 80-game suspension after a positive test for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing drug.
Barrera, 25, as Zuckerman noted, is only the second, “player on the Nationals’ 40-man roster to ... be suspended for a positive PED test since MLB began [their testing] program in 2005,” following a positive test and suspension for catcher Raudy Read in 2018.
Barrera, who said he has never knowingly used a banned substance, released the following statement through the MLB Players Association after an independent arbitrator upheld the suspension:
“After conducting an appeal process, I am saddened to confirm that I have failed a test under MLB’s Joint Drug Agreement for DHCMT, and the arbitrator has decided to uphold the suspension.