G-Braves pitcher suspended 50 games

Cincinnati — Braves minor-league pitcher Rafael Cruz was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball on Tuesday after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, a steroid.

Cruz, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander, had signed with the Braves as a minor-league free agent in January and was in the Braves major-league spring training camp as a non-roster invitee.

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AP

Rafael Cruz, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander, had signed with the Braves as a minor-league free agent in January.

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He had last pitched for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Leagues in 2007. Before that, he had last pitched in the minor leagues in 1999 in the Texas Rangers farm system.

Cruz was 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 22 games in relief for Class AA Mississippi before getting a promotion to Class AAA Gwinnett. He was 1-1 with 8-2/3 scoreless innings at Gwinnett, including a scoreless inning Monday at Indianapolis.