St. Louis Cardinals minor league pitcher Kener Perez, a member of the Dominican Summer League Cardinals, has been suspended 56 games for a PED violation.
Major League Baseball press release
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that three Minor League players have been suspended.
St. Louis Cardinals Minor League pitcher Kener Perez, who is currently on their Dominican Summer League roster, has received a 56-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for Minor League players assigned outside of the United States and Canada.
San Diego Padres Minor League pitcher Ibrahym Jimenez, who is currently on their Dominican Summer League roster, has received a 56-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Nandrolone, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for Minor League players assigned outside of the United States and Canada.
Free agent Minor League pitcher Yonathan Frias has received a 56-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for Minor League players assigned outside of the United States and Canada.
Brian Walton’s take
Perez, a 19-year-old native of Colombia, is in his second year as a relief pitcher in the DSL. After posting a 4.91 ERA in 13 games in 2023, his mark has slid to 8.31 in seven 2024 outings. In 13 innings this season, the right-hander has 12 strikeouts, but issued eight walks and hit seven batters. Perez last pitched on July 17.
🔵 El joven #pitcher sincelejano, Kener Pérez, logró su primera victoria de la temporada en la Dominican Summer League #DSL con los #Cardenales de #SanLuis sobre #BlueJays de #Toronto con score 15×9.
Pérez trabajó 2.2 entradas, no permitió hits ni carreras, concedió 3 bases por… pic.twitter.com/7fVlXORsOf
— korraleja.co ® (@Korraleja) June 5, 2024
The duration of the suspension means that Perez will miss the early stages of the 2025 season as well as it having ended his 2024.
According to my records, Perez is the 43rd Cardinals minor leaguer to be suspended for PED or drug-related matters, but only the second since 2019. In June 2023, current Springfield right-hander Leonardo Taveras was suspended 80 games while still in Class-A.
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