Colon Suspended For PED Use

Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon has tested positive for testosterone and will be suspended for 50 games. The violation was first reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports on Wednesday afternoon and later confirmed in a league announcement.

The news comes almost exactly a week after San Francisco's Melky Cabrera saw his season end across the bay for also using testosterone. Like Cabrea, Colon's regular season is also over with only 40 games remaining on the A's schedule. The 39-year-old righty wouldn't be eligible to return until 10 games into any A's playoff run, but any inclusion of Colon on a postseason roster is almost unthinkable at this point.

Here's Colon's statement on the suspension:

"I apologize to the fans, to my teammates and to the Oakland A's.  I accept responsibility for my actions and I will serve my suspension as required by the Joint Drug Program."

Also like Cabrera, Colon's contributions had thrust his team into postseason contention. He was 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA in his first season with the A's and made headlines across the country when he threw 38 consecutive strikes during a game in early April.

Colon had pitched particularly well since the All-Star break, going 4-2 with a 2.63 ERA in seven starts. The A's rotation will miss him, though the return of Brett Anderson and Brandon McCarthy could help soften the blow for a sneaky-good rotation that also includes Tommy Milone and Jarrod Parker. Perhaps the happiest member of the A's to hear the news is rookie Dan Straily, who was sent to Triple-A this week to make room for Anderson on the roster.

(Yahoo! Sports)