Berglund among trio banned 50 games

Major League Baseball suspended three more players Thursday after each tested positive for banned substances.

One day after four Dominican Summer Leaguers received 50-game bans, the Commissioner's Office announced that Marlins righty Matt Milroy, Pirates lefty Zack Dodson and free agent right-hander Bryan Berglund had been suspended following their violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Eight players have been suspended this week, bringing the 2012 total to 65.

Milroy, 21, was suspended for 50 games without pay after testing positive for Methylhexeanamine after going 2-3 with a 4.11 ERA in nine outings with the Marlins' Class A Short-Season affiliate at Jamestown.

The Illinois product was drafted in the 11th round by Miami in June after going 2-6 with a 3.88 ERA and leading his college team with 65 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings primarily out of the bullpen in 2012.

Dodson, a fourth-round pick in 2009, was suspended for 50 games without pay after a second violation for a drug of abuse. The left-hander went 6-6 with a 4.86 ERA in 21 starts for Class A West Virginia this season after spending time at three levels in 2011.

Their suspensions are effective immediately.

Berglund was also suspended for Methylhexeanamine, and his ban will be effective upon his signing with another Major League organization.

The 21-year-old, who also pitched at Jamestown this season, was the Marlins' second-round pick in 2009 out of Royal High School in Simi Valley, Calif. The 6-foot-4 reliever, clocked previously at 95 mph, made his Minor League debut this season after recovering from a torn labrum and was 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 10 relief outings through Aug. 3 before being released by Miami.

Methylhexeanamine is a substance initially created as a nasal decongestant, but it goes by a variety of names and can be found in some muscle-building products as an energy booster. Five players have been suspended this year for using the substance.