Cesar Carrillo Suspended 100 Games Due to Biogenesis Link

(Image Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)

Right-handed pitcher Cesar Carrillo has received a 100 game suspension from Major League Baseball thanks to his link to the Biogenesis clinic. The Detroit Tigers minor leaguer is the first player tied to the Miami-based clinic to be suspended after ties linking the clinic to performance enhancing drug use first became public in late January.

Major League Baseball announced the suspension late Friday evening, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.

The official announcement merely stated that Carrillo was suspended for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. No other details were made available, which MLB is able to do because he’s just a minor leaguer. Had Carrillo been on a Major League roster the league would have been forced to provide additional information regarding the suspension due to the strength of the Player’s Union. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds that sources say that the league’s decision was based solely on the Biogenesis report.

Major League Baseball is still investigating the clinic and attempting to gain access to the records obtained by the Miami New Times. To date the newspaper has refused to turn them over.

Carrillo, who’ll turn 29 in late April, joined the Tigers on a minor league contract last June after spending the bulk of the 2011 season pitching in the independent Atlantic League after being released in late April (on his birthday, no less) by the Houston Astros. He threw 52.0 innings between Detroit’s High-A and Double-A affiliates, totaling a 3-6 record and 6.23 ERA in 12 games (10 starts). He was slated to return to Double-A to begin the 2013 season.

A number of former players from the University of Miami – including Ryan Braun, Yasmani Grandal, and Gio Gonzalez – have appeared in the clinic’s records according to various reports. Carrillo and Braun not only played together for the Hurricanes, but were roommates for three seasons.