ESPN.com is reporting that Major League Baseball and the Players Association have come to an agreement concerning steroid testing and sanctions for those who violate the terms:
Suspensions on the first offense will carry a maximum length of 10 games, a baseball source told ESPN the Magazine's Buster Olney.Under the previous agreement, a first positive test resulted only in treatment, and a second positive test was subject to a 15-day suspension.
Only with a fifth positive test was a player subject to a one-year ban under the old plan.
All players will be subject to year-round random testing. Every major league player will be tested at least once a year.
There are no stipulations requiring that a player be tested more than once. But an unspecified number of players will be selected at random to be tested numerous other times throughout the year. So unlike the current system, a player would not know, following his one mandatory test, that he had no future tests to worry about for the rest of the year.
Players can now be tested during the offseason. In the first two seasons of the agreement, testing took place only between the opening of spring training and the last day of the season.
A large number of substances would be added to the list of banned drugs, including THG and various steroid precursors. The new agreement does not address the issue of stimulants.
More later, as warranted.
UPDATE: AP's Steve Wilstein isn't impressed.
