Boston Red Sox Pitcher Steven Wright Suspended 80 Games for Positive Drug Test

Steven Wright, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, was suspended for the first 80 games of the season after testing positive for human growth hormones, the Associated Press reports. The commissioner’s office reportedly said the 34-year-old tested positive for Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide 2 (GHRP-2). In a statement issued through the Major League Baseball Players Association, Wright denied he ever intentionally took hormones. “Although I do not dispute the validity of the test, I was shocked as I have never intentionally ingested anything for performance-enhancing purposes,” he said. “I have fully cooperated with MLB and will continue to try and identify the source of the result.” Wright reportedly missed 15 games last year after he was charged with a “domestic related assault” in 2017 and violated the league’s domestic violence policy. He is the only other MLB player to test positive for human growth hormone since 2013, the first instance being in 2016 when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance.