Kansas City Royals prospect Raul Mondesi has been suspended for 50 games for testing positive for clenbuterol, a banned steroid.
The penalty was announced Tuesday against the 20-year-old infielder, who is on Kansas City's 40-man roster but had been optioned to Double-A.
Mondesi is the son of former NL Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi. The younger Mondesi was the first player to make his big league debut in the World Series.
A positive test for a performance-enhancing drug usually results in an 80-game suspension, but Major League Baseball and the players' union agreed to the reduced punishment after Mondesi showed the steroid came from cold medicine. Mondesi says he took the over-the-counter medication without reading the label or consulting his trainer.
He apologized and said he never intended to "take a substance that would give me an unfair advantage on the field."
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