Blue Jays’ Jesus Montero suspended 50 games for positive PED test

Jesus Montero grounds out. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

NEW YORK — Toronto Blue Jays minor-league first baseman Jesus Montero has been suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball without pay after testing positive for a banned substance.

MLB said in a release Thursday that Montero tested positive for dimethylbutylamine, a stimulant outlawed by the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Montero’s suspension will begin at the beginning of next season.

The 26-year-old native of Guacara, Venezuela posted a .317 batting average with 11 home runs and 60 runs batted in over 126 games with triple-A Buffalo this season.

This is the second drug suspension this season for a player in the Blue Jays system. First baseman Chris Colabello tested positive for the anabolic steroid dehydrochlormethyltestosterone while playing with the Blue Jays and received an 80-game suspension back in April.

Colabello struggled after being reinstated on July 23 and finished with a .185 batting average over 45 games with Buffalo.

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