As Bad As It Gets?

Last year, Daniel Rios won 22 games to be the season MVP and pitcher with the most wins in the Korean baseball league before he signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan. In less than a year, however, he was kicked out of the team due to doping.

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) said June 28 that Rios was suspended for a year due to a doping test failure. Yakult immediately requested the termination of its agreement with the 35-year-old right-hander to the Central League. The NPB said the test conducted on a urine sample taken from Rios after a May 21 game showed traces of hydroxystanozol, a banned substance.

“I think the substance was injected to me when I treated my back in the United States at the end of last year. The doctor said the substances will be discharged from my body, so I thought it was okay,” said Rios. The NPB, however, was not forgiving, saying, “It is not possible for a substance injected last December to be detected now.”

Rios signed a deal with Yakult for $950,000 in the first year and, if he performs well enough to earn certain bonuses, up to $2.75 million in 2009. He was dropped from the first team on June 2, after going 2-7 in 11 appearances and compiling a 5.46 ERA.

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