A former trade acquisition is now suspended for PEDs
Veteran outfielder Nate Schierholtz is currently looking for a major league team, and this latest news may hurt his chances even more.
Major League Baseball handed down an 80 game suspension to the former Phillie after he tested positive for a banned performance enhancing substance.
That 80 game suspension will begin if/when Schierholtz signs with a major league team.
Schierholtz hasn’t played a major league game since 2014. He spent part of the 2015 season playing in Japan, where he had 58 hits in 65 games.
Detroit signed Schierholtz to a minor league contract in 2016, but he only played 31 games with their Triple-A affiliate.
The Phillies acquired Nate Schierholtz when they traded Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants in 2012. Tommy Joseph was the center piece of the deal when he was projected to remain at catcher. Reliever Seth Rosin was also sent to Philadelphia in the deal.
Needless to say, the deal was a steal for San Francisco, who went on to win the World Series with Pence in the middle of their line-up.
In 37 games with the Phillies Schierholtz hit .273 with four doubles and a home run.
After failing to return to Philadelphia over the offseason, Schierholtz signed with the Chicago Cubs. He stayed with Chicago into the 2014 season, but was released over the summer. His last major league appearance was with the Washington Nationals in the final weeks of the year.