Washington Nationals catcher Tres Barrera has been suspended by MLB for 80 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
Tres Barrera suspended after testing positive for DHCMT
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports shared that Barrera tested positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT).
DHCMT is an anabolic steroid. As noted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, it was “developed in the 1960s by an East German drug company that was at the center of Olympics drug scandals in the 1980s.”
Barrera denies having knowingly used the performance-enhancing drug. In a statement shared through the MLBPA, he wrote that, “I have never, and will never knowingly use a banned substance.”
A former Texas Longhorn, Barrera was a sixth-round pick in 2016 and made his MLB debut last season. He appeared in two games last season for the Nationals, going 0-for-2 at the plate while working behind the plate as a catcher for two innings.