Angels catcher Ramirez suspended

Angels Minor League catcher Carlos Ramirez and Reds right-hander Vaughn Covington were handed 50-game suspensions on Friday for second violations of Minor League Baseball's drug program.

Ramirez, a 2009 eighth-round Draft pick out of Arizona State, is one of Double-A Arkansas' three catchers and will begin serving his suspension immediately. Covington's ban is effective at the start of the Arizona League Reds' season in June.

Ramirez, 25, was an MiLB.com All-Star in 2011 after batting .312 with seven homers and 41 RBIs in 87 games at three Minor League levels. He played in 85 games last year with Arkansas before the Angels sent him to the Arizona Fall League.

Covington, 19, went 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA in 15 appearances for the AZL Reds last season. He was a 2011 11th-round Draft pick out of British Columbia, Canada.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has suspended 11 players in 2013 for violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.