San Diego Padres relief pitcher Robert Suarez will soon miss 10 games after being hit with a suspension for being caught with a sticky substance on multiple spots on his arm.
On Wednesday, the San Diego Padres began a series against the playoff-contending Miami Marlins. The team was looking to bounce back from an ugly showing versus division rivals the Arizona Diamondbacks where they lost three of four. While they won 6-2 on that day, they suffered a loss related to the league’s continued effort to stop pitchers from using illegal substances during games.
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In the eighth inning of the Wednesday matchup, Robert Suarez was tossed from the game before he even threw a pitch when the crew chief Todd Tichenor claimed the 32-year-old had a sticky substance on his left wrist and arm. On Friday, the league levied its penalty on the reliever and it was stiff.
San Diego Padres record (2023): 61-67
MLB senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill announced that Suarez will serve a 10-game suspension due to his alleged attempts to gain an advantage with a foreign substance. The two-year veteran reportedly has appealed the ban, which may delay him from serving the suspension immediately.
- Robert Suarez stats (2023): 13 games, 4.73 ERA, 0.900 WHIP, 8 SO, 13.1 IP
“We were doing a routine check,” Tichenor said after the game. “We deemed [the substance] was too sticky, very sticky, and he was ejected from the game.”
Suarez is the sixth pitcher to get hit with a ban for sticky substances since MLB started cracking down on the issues two years ago. In 2023, both former New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer and New York Yankees veteran have been suspended for the same reason.