Alfredo Aceves suspended for 50 games for “drug of abuse”

The enigma that is Alfredo Aceves continues to grow. The pitcher, currently in the New York Yankees organization at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, was popped for a 50-game suspension due to a second violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Why?

As Barbarisi notes in his tweet, minor leaguers are subject to tests that are more stringent. Testing for “drugs of abuse”, such as marijuana, is part of the gig in toiling in the minor leagues.

And the irony here, as noted in a tweet by Jon Heyman, had Aceves been on the 40-man roster, no suspension would have occurred. The Yankees had designated Aceves for assignment on June 4. He accepted the assignment and came off their 40-man.

But there was cause to DFA Aceves. In his 10 appearances (19.1 IP), Aceves allowed 23 hits and 14 earned runs (6.52 ERA). He also served up 6 home runs (2.8 HR/9).

After accepting his assignment, Aceves appeared in four games (three starts) and compiled a record of 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA and 1.500 WHIP. In those 14.2 innings of work, opponents were hitting .305 off of him.

When you see tweets such as this one from the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham…

…it makes the situation, to use Abraham’s words, “a real shame”.