Minor league pitchers Luis Moreno, Alejandro Crisostomo suspended after positive drug tests

NEW YORK — Free agent pitchers Luis Gabriel Moreno and Alejandro Crisostomo were suspended for 80 games each by Major League Baseball on Friday following positive tests for performance-enhancing substances under the minor league drug program.

Moreno tested positive for Nandrolone, and Crisostomo tested positive for Boldenone and Nandrolone, the commissioner's office said.

A 26-year-old right-hander, Moreno was released by the New York Mets' Class A Brooklyn Cyclones on Tuesday. He was 5-1 with a 5.33 ERA in 12 relief appearances this season for Brooklyn after spending 2016-23 in the San Francisco Giants organization.

Crisostomo, a 24-year-old right-hander, was released by Minnesota on Aug. 24 after going 0-1 with a 7.13 ERA this year with the Florida Complex League Twins. He signed with Boston in 2017, spent 2018 in the Dominican Summer League with the Red Sox, then signed with Minnesota and spent 2023 with the Twins DSL team.

Nineteen players have been suspended this year for positive drug tests, including eight under the minor league program and nine under the new program for minor league players assigned outside the United States and Canada.

Two players have been suspended this year under the major league drug program.

Noelvi Marté, a 22-year-old infielder who is the Cincinnati Reds' top prospect, missed the first 80 games following a positive test for boldenone.

Toronto Blue Jays infielder Orelvis Martínez was suspended for 80 games on June 23 following a positive test for the performance-enhancing drug clomiphene, an announcement made two days after his major league debut.

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