MLB upholds 80-game suspension for Phillies' Johan Rojas after appeal
Johan Rojas will officially be suspended 80 games without pay by Major League Baseball after an unsuccessful appeal after testing for a banned performance-enhancing drug.
The league announced Rojas’ official suspension of Rojas, the Philadelphia Phillies outfielder, after testing positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid.
The news broke earlier this month that Rojas, 25, failed the test. As a result, not only did he face an MLB suspension, but he was removed from the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) roster.
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The D.R. fell to Team USA, 2-1, in the WBC semifinals on Monday night, as the latter now heads to the final to await the winner of Venezuela and Italy.
Rojas won’t be able to play until the second half of the MLB season, and if the Phillies reach the playoffs, he will not be eligible for the roster.
Rojas has played his entire career with the Phillies thus far, making his big-league debut in 2023. After offensive struggles, Rojas saw a demotion back to the minor leagues in 2024, though he still managed to play 120 games for Philadelphia.
In 2025, Rojas slashed .224/.280/.289 with a .569 OPS over 71 games for the Phillies. He hit just one home run and tallied 18 RBI across 172 plate appearances.
Before he was suspended, Rojas was hitting .167 over 24 spring training at-bats.
With his appeal denied, Rojas became the second major leaguer to be slapped with a lengthy suspension, though Atlanta Braves star Jurickson Profar will be forced to miss the entire 2026 season after getting a 162-game suspension for his second PED offense.
Profar was suspended 80 games last season after a positive test in March for chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), which is a hormone that helps produce testosterone in the body.
Profar also intended to ask the MLBPA to file a grievance to appeal any discipline earlier this month.
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