Houston Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco received a 10-game suspension for violating MLB’s foreign substance policy, the league announced Wednesday.
Blanco was ejected from Tuesday’s game against the Oakland Athletics following a foreign substance check. According to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Astros general manager Dana Brown stated Wednesday that Blanco does not plan to appeal the suspension.
Umpires inspected Blanco’s glove in the fourth inning and subsequently removed him from the game after he had pitched three scoreless innings.
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Astros manager Joe Espada mentioned that he saw rosin mixed with sweat on Blanco’s glove before the ejection.
“It was probably rosin I put on my left arm. Maybe because of the sweat it got into the glove, and that’s maybe what they found,” Blanco said, according to Rome.
Blanco added that he “doesn’t always” put rosin on his left arm but does so when he sweats. He also claimed he was unaware that his actions were illegal.
Umpire Erich Bacchus, who inspected Blanco’s glove, commented, “It was the stickiest stuff I’ve felt on a glove since we’ve been doing this for a few years now,” according to Rome.
Pitchers Max Scherzer, Drew Smith, Domingo Germán, Caleb Smith, and Héctor Santiago have all received 10-game suspensions since MLB began cracking down on the use of foreign substances in 2021.
