Reds outfield prospect Duran suspended for positive test

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NEW YORK (AP) — Cincinnati Reds outfield prospect Juan Duran has been suspended for the first 80 games of the season under Major League Baseball’s drug program following a positive test for three performance-enhancing substances.

Duran tested positive for Drostanolone, Stanozolol and Nandrolone, the commissioner’s office said Friday.

He became the first player penalized under the big league program since St. Louis catcher Stanley Cody on Sept. 12.

“The organization does not condone in any way the use of drugs prohibited under the policy,” the Reds said in a statement.

A 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic, Duran has spent eight seasons in the minor leagues since signing with the Reds in February 2008 but has not appeared in a major league game. He was added to the 40-man roster in November 2013 and spent the last two seasons on option to the minors.

Duran has played in 19 major league exhibition games for the Reds in 2011, 2014 and last year, combining to go 6 for 33 (.182) with two homers, five RBIs, 14 strikeouts and two walks.

He went on a minor league disabled list on Aug. 21, 2014, after he was hit by a pitch and sustained a hairline fracture in his right warm and torn ligaments. He didn’t play in another regular-season game until a rehabilitation assignment with the Arizona League Reds on June 20, then rejoined Double-A Pensacola on July 1 and hit .256 with six homers and 43 RBIs in 59 games.

Duran has shown some power in the minors, hitting 80 home runs in 627 games.

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