San Diego Padres reliever Robert Suárez suspended for 10 games using banned sticky stuff

NEW YORK – San Diego Padres reliever Robert Suárez was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on Friday, the sixth pitcher penalized for using banned sticky stuff.

The penalty was announced by MLB senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill.

Suárez appealed the discipline to John McHale Jr., a special assistant to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. Any suspension will be delayed while the appeal is pending.

Suárez was ejected Wednesday for having sticky stuff on his left wrist and arm before he threw a pitch in the eighth inning against Miami. Suárez denied using any banned substances, saying he had only sunscreen on his arm because it was a day game.

“We were doing a routine check,” crew chief Todd Tichenor said. “We deemed it was too sticky, very sticky, and he was ejected from the game.”

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After MLB began cracking down on foreign substances in June 2021, Seattle’s Héctor Santiago and Arizona’s Caleb Smith served suspensions for sticky substances.

Mets pitchers Max Scherzer and Drew Smith were suspended this season along with Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán.