Free agents Montilla, Quezada suspended

Free-agent pitchers Manuel Montilla and Euris Quezada were handed 50-game suspensions Thursday after testing positive for a banned steroid.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said the pair of right-handers tested positive for metabolites of stanozolol, a violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Both received a 50-game suspensions without pay and will begin serving them immediately upon signing with a Major League organization.

Montilla, 22, signed with the Colorado Rockies in 2009 and spent last season with Rookie-level Grand Junction, where he went 2-0 with a 7.18 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings over 20 Pioneer League games. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Dominican Summer League Rockies. In 96 career games, he owns a record of 11-12 with a 4.00 ERA in 168 2/3 Minor League innings.

Quezada, a 6-foor-6 right-hander who turned 24 on April 6, signed with Houston as a free agent in 2008 and appeared in 64 games from 2009-'13. He appeared in one game with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Astros last year, recording one out, after reaching Class A Lexington for 14 games in 2012.

Stanozolol is a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from testosterone that is sometimes prescribed by veterinarians to encourage muscle growth, red blood cell production, bone density and to stimulate the appetite of weakened animals. Four other players have received suspensions this year after testing positive for the substance after 13 were flagged for using it in 2013.

The Commissioner's Office has suspended 22 players this year for violations of the Minor League drug program.