MLB: Time for next evolution of league’s PED policy

Some MLB players are calling for stricter penalties for steroid users. With new labor negotiations on the horizon, is it time to update the league’s policy?

When it comes to hot-button issues in baseball, performance-enhancing drugs have to be at or near the top of the list. Everyone, from players to fans, has an opinion on the steps Major League Baseball has taken to combat the problem, and whether further actions are still needed.

With several notable steroid suspensions having already been handed down by the league this year, more voices are being raised in response. Count Atlanta Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur among those who believe stiffer penalties for PED users are in order.

The 12-year big league veteran appeared on an ESPN podcast with Buster Olney yesterday and argued that the league’s current policies don’t go far enough to deter steroid offenders:

"“The system is flawed. There’s no other way around it. Guys get docked 80 games or whatever it is. Yeah, that’s a lot of money. But if you sign a $60 million deal and you’re losing maybe $5 million, it’s worth it for a lot of these guys. It stinks because there are buddies of mine who were basically battling these guys for jobs. It’s just unfair … I know a lot of guys that have been busted, and they’re good people. I like them a lot. But at the end of the day, they’re cheating the system.”"

Francoeur echoes the hardline stance that many players have publically adopted over the past several years. Just a few months ago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta said virtually the same thing, that many players are still willing to try to cheat the system because the punishments, particularly for first-time offenders, don’t outweigh the potential on-field and monetary rewards.

MLB has made considerable progress since the “Wild West” days of the 1990s and early 2000s, when by most accounts steroid use in the sport was at its peak. The league first instituted drug testing with penalties in time for the 2004 season, but it wasn’t until two years later that it first implemented a system with some teeth. Starting in 2006, those who tested positive for the first time would receive a 50-game suspension.

The policy has been adjusted and tweaked over time until reaching its present form, under which players get an 80-game ban for a first offense, a full-season suspension for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third. Compared to the league’s first attempt at policing steroids, that seems downright draconian. But it still might not be enough.

Is it time to once again up the ante? News of PED suspensions are nothing uncommon in the world of baseball, but every once in a while there’s a name that makes you pause. Dee Gordon, last season’s NL batting champion, was suspended 80 games for a positive test on April 29. This came only three months after signing a five-year, $50 million extension with the Miami Marlins. A lithe-framed speedster, the 28-year-old Gordon certainly doesn’t look like the popular image of a hulking steroid user.

Former Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia was banned for life in February after his third positive test within a year, becoming the first player to receive such a suspension under MLB’s drug policy. Whether through sheer stupidity or an honest belief that they can beat the system, there are some players who are still trying – repeatedly – to gain an illegal edge.

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It’s not hard to understand their thought process. While a half-season suspension is not exactly a slap on the wrist, it’s by no means damning either. And players have shown that the money is still there, even for those who have previously tested positive. For instance, after receiving a 50-game suspension in 2012, Melky Cabrera inked a two-year, $16 million contract with the Blue Jays during the offseason. It’s likely a fraction of what he otherwise would have gotten, but not chump change either. He cashed in even more after the 2014 season, when he signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the White Sox.

If players remain productive, they’ll keep finding work, steroid cloud or no. If the powers that be want to cut down on PED use even more, they will need to put penalties in place that make would-be offenders think twice.

A popular suggestion is a lifetime ban for the first offense. One-and-done. As tempting as that might be, it’s probably not very realistic. Any change in the policy must be approved by the players union, a factor acknowledged by Francoeur. He said, “It’s tough, because the union doesn’t want to give the commissioner’s office all this power. I completely understand that. But at the same time, the Players Association needs to understand the players want stiffer penalties.”

There’s also the possibility of false positive tests and players unknowingly using banned substances. Fans tend to roll their eyes at such claims, but when you’re talking about very lengthy suspensions, you want to make sure you get it right. “The fine print has to be ironed out,” Arrieta conceded. “I would agree that somebody could take something unknowingly, and found out that maybe it wasn’t what they thought it was. But if it’s a blatant attempt to beat the system with a serious steroid, then I think maybe so.”

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There will never be a perfect solution, but the worst thing Major League Baseball could do is allow itself to grow complacent and stagnant. It needs to respond to what it hears from players, as well as what it sees happening on and off the field. If a majority of players are in favor of stricter PED penalties – “90 percent” by Francoeur’s reckoning – then that is a conversation that should take place.

The league’s current collective bargaining agreement expires in December, meaning this and many other issues are sure to be addressed in the months ahead.