Blue Jays should lead the charge on PED suspension tweaks

After the Blue Jays’ Thomas Pannone received an 80 game suspension, should the organization be pushing for further examination of the testing process?

Perhaps I’m being a little naive, but I’m feeling pretty frustrated by Major League Baseball’s performance enhancement drug testing programs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for making baseball a clean game and keeping the players from using substances that will give them an unfair, and unhealthy advantage. However, as things currently stand I have a hard time believing that the system is completely effective.

Throughout the last couple decades in the game there have been a great deal of players who have tested positive, and the majority have been suspended. In recent years the penalties have become stiffer in hopes that it will discourage use and finally rid baseball of the problem, however it hasn’t exactly worked that way.

In fact, there were 11 big league suspensions handed out over the 2016 and 2017 seasons, and countless other minor leaguers who were sat down as well. Among that group was former Blue Jays’ first baseman/outfielder, Chris Colabello, who maintains his innocence to this day. Other notable players on that list include Starling Marte last season, Dee Gordon, Marlon Byrd and many others.

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For the Blue Jays, the latest example is Thomas Pannone, who was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a substance called Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, otherwise known as DHCMT. Ironically, it was the same substance that landed Colabello on the suspension list, and completely derailed the success he had the previous year with the Blue Jays.  Unfortunately he’s never been the same since.

In Pannone’s case, the 23 year old had worked his way into a position of being considered legitimate rotation depth for the Blue Jays this season, and likely would have received an opportunity at some point if injuries became a factor, as they did in 2017. However, now he’ll be forced to sit on the sidelines and try to figure out what, if anything, he did wrong to set off the positive test result.

This is the part where I know some of you will think I’m being naive, but I’ll say it anyway: I don’t think Pannone knowingly used anything he shouldn’t have. The young man went as far as to take a three hour lie detector test, and passed with flying colours according to his statement on Twitter.

It’s possible that television has fooled some of us into thinking it’s easy to pass a lie detector test, but don’t kid yourself, it’s incredibly difficult to do if you’re not being truthful. In a past career working for an insurance agency, I watched several claims get elevated to the point of dispute where a lie detector test was brought in, and I never saw it work in the favour of the claimant. There is a certain type of person that can pass that kind of test, but I refuse to believe that’s the type of character that Pannone is made up of.

Which is why I believe the Blue Jays should be among the leaders pushing for refinement to the testing process. I’m not going to claim I have any idea what that would look like, but I don’t buy that the system is flawless as things currently stand, and that’s a big problem. If in fact there are any players serving a suspension for something they didn’t do, that’s an incredible disservice to their career, and to the organization that employs them.

I’m not saying the Blue Jays should advocate for a looser system either, but standing up for the rights of their players should be important. Even if it’s something as simple as a certain type of supplement (assumed to be clean), medication, or even a food that is setting off a positive test result, baseball needs to know for certain that these suspensions are all justified, in every single case.

As I said above, maybe I’m being naive, but I believe Pannone that he did not knowingly take a banned substance. If he did take something that set off the result, then it’s extremely important to figure what it is. Otherwise, careers could legitimately be ruined without just cause, and that’s a terrible shame if that’s the case, even once.

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