Why the positive steroid tests? MLB wants to find out

The sudden rash in positive steroid tests among big leaguers – four pitchers, all caught with Stanozolol in their system – has Major League Baseball looking into any links between the cases and exploring why the old-school drug is popping up on tests again.

The four players suspended for 80 games in a stretch of 16 days starting March 27 – David Rollins of the Seattle Mariners, Arodys Vizcaino of the Atlanta Braves, Ervin Santana of the Minnesota Twins and Jenrry Mejia of the New York Mets – are already one more than the number of players on 40-man rosters penalized for using performance-enhancing substances all of last year.

And the presence of Stanozolol in all four has raised questions as to why the easily detectable drug, popular with bodybuilders for its muscle-building and fat-burning properties, may have made a resurgence. Stanozolol was the anabolic steroid that tripped positive tests by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympics and former big-league star Rafael Palmeiro in 2005.

Baseball has yet to find a connection between the four positive tests, the most among major leaguers since 2012. MLB did suspend 14 players for drug-policy violations stemming from the Biogenesis scandal in 2013, but none of them were caught by testing,

The suspensions, none of which is being appealed, have put some teams in a bind. While Rollins and Vizcaino only figured to play minor roles this season, Santana was expected to be one of the Twins' top starters after signing a four-year, $55 million contract in the offseason.

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And Mejia's loss might be the most damaging. The Dominican right-hander made a successful transition from starter to the bullpen last season, taking over as the closer after Bobby Parnell went down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery in April.

Mejia, who had the same operation in 2011, pitched a career-high 93 2/3 innings, saved 28 games, averaged better than a strikeout an inning and so impressed the Mets that manager Terry Collins intimated he would retain the closer role even after Parnell came back.

But Mejia was sidelined by elbow inflammation at the beginning of the season, and on Saturday came the news he wouldn't be available until July after drawing the suspension.

"It happens in the business, but it's a damper," Collins told reporters. "I understand everything about it, I really do, but you know what? There are 24 other guys in that locker room that need him, too. That's why it is so disappointing.''

And to this point, both intriguing and puzzling to MLB.

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