Major League Baseball will test for human growth hormone throughout the regular season and increase efforts to detect abnormal levels of testosterone.
Baseball players were subject to blood testing for HGH during spring training last year, and Thursday’s agreement between management and the Major League Baseball Players Association expands that throughout the season. Those are in addition to urine tests for other performance-enhancing drugs.
Under the changes to baseball’s drug agreement, the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Laval, Quebec, will keep records of each player, including his baseline ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, and will conduct Carbon Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) tests of any suspect urine specimens.
Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice president for economics and league affairs, said each player will be tested at least once.
Commissioner Bud Selig praised the cooperation of the players association, once a staunch opponent of drug testing, in agreeing to the expansion.
“Michael Weiner and the union deserve credit,” he said.
SHORT HOPS
Paul Dolan, 53, has been approved by baseball owners as the controlling owner of the Cleveland Indians, taking over from his father, Larry, who has owned the teams since February 2002. … Free agent pitcher Francisco Liriano injured his right (non-throwing) arm over the holidays and his two-year, $14 million deal with the Pirates is on hold. … Left-hander Chris Narveson and the Brewers agreed to an $840,000, one-year contract. Narveson had two starts last April, then had season-ending surgery on his left rotator cuff. … Right-handed reliever Chris Resop agreed to a $1.35 million, one-year contract with the Athletics. … Infielder Luis Valbuena agreed to a $930,000, one-year deal with the Cubs.
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