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Cleveland Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte suspended by MLB

Cleveland Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte has been suspended by Major League Baseball for a violation of their drug policy.

Cleveland Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte has been suspended by Major League Baseball for a violation of their drug policy.

Cleveland Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte has been suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball for a violation of their drug policy, the team announced Friday afternoon.

Prior to the announcement of the suspension, Almonte was expected to compete for a starting job in the Indians’ outfield throughout spring training.

“We were disappointed to learn of the suspension of Abraham Almonte for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the Indians said in a statement released Friday.

“We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance-enhancing drugs from our game. Per the protocol outlined by Major League Baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement, we will not comment further on the circumstances surrounding this announcement.”

After struggling with off-the-field issues and failing to land full-time on-the-field duties with the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres in the early part of his career, Almonte found a home in the starting lineup for the Indians over the second half of the 2015 season.

When the Indians elected to trade outfielder Michael Bourn and first baseman Nick Swisher to the Atlanta Braves in August, that left them with a hole to fill in center field, and Almonte took control of the job over the final two months of the year, as he appeared in 50 games for the team.

Although the 5-foot-9, 210-pound Almonte did not look the part of a prototypical center fielder, the 26-year old native of Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic logged 123 putouts and two assists without an error in 125 total chances over 440.1 innings of work.

In 196 plate appearances, Almonte batted .264 with nine doubles, five triples and five home runs to go along with 30 runs scored, 20 driven in, six stolen bases and 16 walks against 33 strikeouts.

Almonte suffered through alcohol abuse issues during the early part of his career. Already with a penchant for drinking through the late-evening hours, Almonte suffered a shoulder injury while in camp with the New York Yankees in 2010, and that was when his issues really took hold.

It would take him until 2011 to overcome the issues and reenergize his baseball career.

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