According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, MLB is expected to announce on Tuesday that any player that uses foreign substances will face a 10-day suspension.
Fans have been hearing for weeks that MLB was expected to crack down on pitchers using foreign substances to enhance their grip on baseballs. All eyes have been on pitchers and their drop in spin rates following reports that enforcement by the league was coming. Well, the crackdown on foreign substance violations will begin very soon.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, MLB is expected to announce on Tuesday that any player caught using a foreign substance will be suspended 10-days with pay. The memo will be distributed to all 30 teams that will explain how they will enforce punishments if players are found using substances such as Spider Tack (an industrial glue) and a rosin-sunscreen combination by umpires. Enforcement will officially begin on June 21.
MLB expected to announce players who are caught using foreign substances will face 10-day ban
Passan notes in his report that there are some clubs who have asked their pitchers who have used grip-enhancing substances to throw bullpen sessions without using them as a way to prepare themselves for after the league enforcement becomes official.
When it comes to attention in MLB, the pitchers have been in the spotlight regarding whether they did or did not use foreign substances to give them a better grip on the ball.
Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson brought up New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s decreased spin rate in a June start against the Tampa Bay Rays. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has struggled in his past two starts with news looming of league punishment. New York Mets players defended Jacob deGrom after he was accused of using foreign substances by a social media user. Pitchers, especially big-name pitchers, have been under the proverbial microscope.
We will get more official details of how the league will enforce punishments once they publicly announce it. But for now, we know that players caught using any foreign substances will face a 10-day suspension.