BRADENTON, Fla. – Pirates Minor League utility man Pablo Reyes was suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, MLB announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Reyes is currently on Triple-A Indianapolis’ roster, and he wasn’t invited to Major League Spring Training despite spending parts of the last two seasons with the Pirates. His suspension will be effective at the beginning of the regular season, according to MLB’s announcement.

Astros pitcher Francis Martes was suspended for 162 games on Monday after testing positive for the same substance. MLB has previously issued suspensions to Jenrry Mejia (twice) Abraham Almonte and David Paulino following positive tests for Boldenone.

The news of Reyes’ suspension might help explain why he was not invited to Major League Spring Training after being designated for assignment on Jan. 9 to make room on the 40-man roster for the signing of outfielder Guillermo Heredia.

Reyes cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A a week after he was designated for assignment, and teams typically bring recently outrighted players with Reyes’ MLB service time to Major League camp as non-roster invitees.

Reyes, a diminutive super utility man at 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, made his Major League debut in September 2018. An unheralded prospect signed out of the Dominican Republic, Reyes unexpectedly thrived in his first month by slashing .293/.349/.483 with three homers while making a handful of highlight-reel defensive plays in 18 games.

Reyes cracked the Pirates’ injury-riddled Opening Day roster last season, but he struggled to find his footing in a bench role. Reyes was optioned to Triple-A on May 4, and he was injured for more than two weeks in June and not recalled to the Majors until Aug. 2. Overall, Reyes hit just .203/.274/.322 in 71 games for the Pirates last season.

Reyes’ suspension won’t significantly affect the Pirates’ depth for the first half of the season. They have utility/infield depth on the 40-man roster in the form of Erik Gonzalez, JT Riddle, Cole Tucker, Jose Osuna and Kevin Kramer. They also brought in non-roster infielders Jake Elmore and Phillip Evans and outfielders Socrates Brito and Charlie Tilson, who could fill out Indianapolis’ roster if they don’t crack the Pirates’ 26-man squad.