Minor Leaguer Rodriguez suspended for violating drug program

BALTIMORE -- Yankees Minor League right-hander Wilking Rodriguez has received an 80-game suspension without pay after violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment program, it was announced on Wednesday.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said that Rodriguez tested positive for Furosemide, a performance-enhancing substance. The 25-year-old was in big league camp with the Yankees this spring and had been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

"It's not what you want to see," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He threw the ball pretty well for us in Spring Training, and it's not what you want to see. It's still what we're still dealing with."

Rodriguez, 25, made his Major League debut with the Royals last year, appearing in two games and pitching two scoreless innings.

"It's a risk that players take when they don't know what they put in their body, or they take something that they know is illegal and think they're going to get away with it," Girardi said. "I don't understand it, but it's the world we live in."