Cubs prospect Oscar De La Cruz suspended 80 games for failing drug test

Share

Chicago Cubs minor league pitcher Oscar De La Cruz's holiday week took a turn for the worse on Friday. De La Cruz failed a drug test resulting in an 80-game suspension.

“We are disappointed to learn today that Oscar De La Cruz has violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program," the team said in a statement. "The Cubs fully support the Program and its efforts to remove performance enhancing drugs from the game. We also expect Oscar to learn from this experience and will support him on his journey back.  Per Program protocol, the Cubs will not comment further on this matter.”

According to reports, the substance was Furosemide which is a diuretic and a masking agent.

De La Cruz has been pitching in AA with the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League. The right-handed pitcher is 6-7 in the 2018 season, with a 5.24 ERA. The suspension ends his 2018 campaign and will carry on into the first part of the 2019 season.

Entering the season, Oscar De La Cruz was ranked as the sixth-best prospect by Baseball America.

Contact Us