{"id":476157,"date":"2026-02-18T16:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/476157\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:47:16","slug":"javier-baez-takes-blame-for-drug-test-that-cost-him-wbc-keep-my-mouth-shut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/476157\/","title":{"rendered":"Javier B\u00e1ez takes blame for drug test that cost him WBC: ‘Keep my mouth shut’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Javier B\u00e1ez<\/a> had little choice but offer a full mea culpa, even if the situation proved a little absurd.<\/p>\n

“This is all my fault,” he told reporters<\/a> in Lakeland, Florida regarding a positive test for marijuana<\/a> that will prevent him from representing Puerto Rico in next month’s World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

“I’m the one that failed the test. It really hurts my family, my reputation, but it’s part of it. Other than that, I got a long season to go, and I got to prepare for that.”<\/p>\n

B\u00e1ez, a Detroit Tigers<\/a> 2025 All-Star<\/a>, would not have been caught up in a positive test simply under MLB’s auspices. The league has not tested members of the 40-man roster for marijuana and after the 2019 season stopped suspending minor league players for positive tests for pot.<\/p>\n

\"Javier<\/p>\n

Javier Baez was an All-Star for the Tigers in 2025.<\/p>\n

Yet the World Baseball Softball Federation, which administers the WBC, still considers it a banned substance, even in this era when other governing bodies prefer players use marijuana rather than opioids to manage pain and other maladies.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

His suspension landed at a particularly inopportune time for Puerto Rico’s squad, which learned the same week that fellow All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor will not play due to insurance concerns; Lindor eventually suffered a hamate bone injury, anyway.<\/p>\n

B\u00e1ez, 33, is expected to play a key multi-positional role again for the Tigers. He just hoped to rep his home territory in the WBC before then.<\/p>\n

“I understand the rules,” says Ba\u0301ez, per the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. “It’s not like I was taking steroids or anything to last longer or whatever. They made that decision.<\/p>\n

“I’m fine with it \u2013 I mean, I’m not fine with it. I just keep my mouth shut.”<\/p>\n

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MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida<\/p>\n

Feb. 13: New York Yankees<\/p>\n

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Feb. 13: New York Yankees<\/p>\n

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Feb. 13: Los Angeles Dodgers<\/p>\n

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Feb. 13: Detroit Tigers<\/p>\n

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Feb. 13: Milwaukee Brewers<\/p>\n

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Feb. 10: Atlanta Braves<\/p>\n

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Feb. 10: San Francisco Giants<\/p>\n

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Feb. 10: Chicago White Sox<\/p>\n

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Feb. 10: Arizona Diamondbacks<\/p>\n

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Feb. 11: Toronto Blue Jays<\/p>\n

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Feb. 11: Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n

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Feb. 11: Los Angeles Angels<\/p>\n

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Feb. 11: Athletics<\/p>\n

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Feb. 11: New York Mets<\/p>\n

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Feb. 11: Chicago CUbs<\/p>\n

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Feb. 12: Chicago CUbs<\/p>\n

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Feb. 12: New York Yankees<\/p>\n

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Feb 12, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets infielder Bo Bichette (19) warms-up during spring training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Feb. 12: Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n

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Feb. 12: Pittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tigers’ Javy Baez takes blame for failed drug test that cost him WBC<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Javier B\u00e1ez had little choice but offer a full mea culpa, even if the situation proved a little…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[372,2808,10010,12002,38065,6149,363,220407,5898,99,72364,220408],"class_list":["post-476157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-florida","tag-francisco-lindor","tag-javier-baez","tag-lakeland","tag-marijuana","tag-mlb","tag-positive-test","tag-puerto-rico","tag-sports","tag-world-baseball-classic","tag-world-baseball-softball-federation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}