{"id":140455,"date":"2026-03-17T08:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/140455\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T08:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:39:09","slug":"mlb-announces-80-game-suspension-for-the-phillies-johan-rojas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/140455\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB announces 80-game suspension for the Phillies\u2019 Johan Rojas"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2014 If Johan Rojas plays for the Phillies<\/a> this season, it won\u2019t be until at least the last week in June.<\/p>\n

Rojas received an 80-game suspension without pay after he tested positive for boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball announced Monday. The 25-year-old center fielder is ineligible to play at any level until June 25.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Phillies said they are \u201cdisappointed\u201d to learn of Rojas\u2019 positive test and \u201cfully support\u201d MLB\u2019s joint drug prevention and treatment program.<\/p>\n

News of Rojas\u2019 test result<\/a> leaked on March 2 upon his withdrawal from the Dominican Republic\u2019s roster for the World Baseball Classic. Rojas filed an appeal with MLB and declined multiple requests for comment while awaiting a decision.<\/p>\n

But Rojas continued to play in spring training games for the Phillies, most recently going 0-for-1 with a walk Sunday in Clearwater, Fla., against the Braves. He was 4-for-24 (.167) in 10 Grapefruit League games.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the pending suspension, Rojas was hardly a lock for the Phillies\u2019 opening-day roster. Justin Crawford is set to take over center field, and Rojas has minor-league options. Veteran utilityman Dylan Moore and reserve outfielder Bryan De La Cruz emerged as likelier bench candidates.<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Justin Crawford showcases ability to put a ball in play on the ground: \u2018That\u2019s all he needs to do\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The Phillies\u2019 center-field depth does take a hit with Rojas\u2019 ban. Brandon Marsh<\/a>, who is expected to play mostly left field, could shift to center, if necessary. The Phillies\u2019 best option in triple A is now 27-year-old Pedro Le\u00f3n, who was claimed off waivers from the Astros. Le\u00f3n went 2-for-20 in seven major league games in 2024.<\/p>\n

Rojas, an elite defender, made his major league debut in 2023 and was a pleasant surprise at the plate, batting .302 with a .771 OPS in 164 plate appearances.<\/p>\n

But he struggled ever since. Among 316 players with at least 500 plate appearances since the beginning of the 2024 season, Rojas ranked 308th with a .591 OPS.<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, boldenone is an anabolic androgenic steroid that was originally developed for veterinary use but is commonly taken by athletes to increase muscle mass and strength. It is prohibited under MLB\u2019s joint drug prevention and treatment program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 If Johan Rojas plays for the Phillies this season, it won\u2019t be until at least the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64374,69,71,70],"class_list":{"0":"post-140455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-johan-rojas-suspension-ped-return-date-positive-test","9":"tag-philadelphia","10":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","11":"tag-philadelphia-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}