Phillies' Freddy Galvis Suspended 50 Games for PED Violation

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis has been suspended 50 games for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy, reports Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Galvis was found in violation of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by testing positive for a metabolite of a drug called Clostebol, a PED. In a statement following the announcement, Galvis claimed no wrong doing but accepted the suspension:

"A trace amount of a banned substance – 80 parts in a trillion – was detected in my urine sample. I am extremely disappointed in what has transpired. I cannot understand how even this tiny particle of a banned substance got into my body. I have not and never would knowingly use anything illegal to enhance my performance. I have always tried to follow the team’s strength and conditioning methods, listen to the trainers, work out hard and eat right. Unfortunately, the rules are the rules and I will be suspended."

Filling in early on for the injured Chase Utley, the 22-year-old Galvis did not by any means set the world on fire offensively, hitting just .226/.254/.363 in 58 games. With that anemic slash line, one has to sort of hope Galvis only took "defensive" PEDs.

On the DL since June 6 after suffering a pars fracture in his back in the fifth inning of a matchup against the Dodgers, Galvis was likely to miss the team's next 50 games either way, but the stigma of a positive PED test makes things much worse for the young Venezuelan.