Seattle Mariners minor league pitcher Jose Zerpa was suspended for 80 games after a positive test for Stanozolol under baseball’s minor league drug program. The 21-year-old Venezuelan right-hander is among the latest players disciplined this season.
A 21-year-old pitcher’s promising year in the minors just hit a hard stop. Seattle Mariners right-hander Jose Zerpa was suspended for 80 games on Friday after a positive test for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol under baseball’s minor league drug program.
Zerpa, a Venezuelan who plays in Class A for Inland Empire in the California League, is 4-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 10 relief appearances this year. He signed a minor league contract with Seattle in 2023 that included a $10,000 bonus.
The suspension is the seventh drug-related discipline handed out to a player this year under the sport’s minor league rules. Zerpa’s case also adds to a season of repeat offenders and lengthy bans.
Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended for the entire season on March 3 after testing positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites. That failed test was Profar’s second offense under the drug rules.
And earlier in the year, free agent outfielder Max Kepler was banned for 80 games on Jan. 9 after a positive test for Epitrenbolone.
The sequence of punishments is stark: a full-season suspension for a second violation, and an 80-game ban for Zerpa after his Stanozolol positive—one of multiple disciplinary actions already counted this year.
Jose Zerpa Mariners minor league suspension Stanozolol drug test California League Inland Empire Jurickson Profar Max Kepler Epitrenbolone exogenous testosterone