TENNESSEE SMOKIES’ PITCHER OSCAR DE LA CRUZ ON 80-GAME SUSPENSION
Oscar De La Cruz, a pitcher for the Tennessee Smokies, has been handed a broad-based 80-game suspension – whether he’s with the Smokies, a Triple-A club or the major league for those games – reportedly for a drug-policy violation. The suspension comes on the heels of De La Cruz’s reported positive test for the masking agent Furosemide, according to the Chicago Tribune; this puts him in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
A statement released by the Smokies yesterday said, “The Clubs fully support the Program and its efforts to remove performance-enhancing drugs from the game.”
The Tennessee Smokies are the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A minor-league affiliates. De La Cruz has a record of 6-7 with a 5.24 ERA in 16 starts for the Smokies.