Somehow, it was not a surprise to hear this afternoon that the Oakland A’s right-hander has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
After all, the 39-year-old right-hander underwent a controversial stem cell treatment on his injured shoulder in 2010 and resurrected his career following shoulder problems that caused him to miss much of the 2006-2009 seasons and all of 2010.
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reported via Twitter that Colon tested positive for testosterone, which is the same substance for which San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera was recently suspended.
An integral reason why Oakland is 66-55 and is in the midst of the American League wild card race, Colon won the American League Cy Young Award winner in 2005 with a 21-8 record and a 3.48 ERA for the Angels but made just 46 starts from 2006 to 2009 because of shoulder injuries. After undergoing the unique stem cell treatment and missing the 2010 season, he went 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA in 26 starts for the Yankees last year.
If any team can withstand the loss of a key starting pitcher, it is the A’s. Oakland’s rotation recently saw the return of left-hander Brett Anderson and right-hander Brandon McCarthy. The team could recall right-hander Daniel Straily, who was the odd man out when Anderson was activated from the disabled list earlier this week, even though he was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in three starts with the A’s.
