Texas' Novoa, Boston's Nunez suspended

NEW YORK -- Catching prospects Melvin Novoa of the Texas Rangers and Jhon Nunez of the Boston Red Sox were suspended Monday for violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Novoa, 19, was banned 56 games without pay after a positive test for Clostebol, while Nunez received a 25-game suspension for an undisclosed violation. Their suspensions will start when the Rookie-level Arizona League and the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League circuit begin play this month.

The Rangers signed Novoa as an international free agent in November 2013, and he is coming off a season in which he slashed .278/.336/.398 with three home runs and 27 RBIs in 40 games with the AZL Rangers. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound backstop will miss the entire Arizona League season.

Nunez had a slash line of .204/.299/.287 in 35 games with short-season Lowell in 2015 and played four games with Class A Greenville in April this season. He hit .316/.350/.421 over 20 plate appearances with the Drive before being reassigned to Lowell on May 2.

Clostebol is a synthetic anabolic androgenic steroid, a simple derivative of testosterone. A Schedule IV substance, it is considered a weak anabolic steroid that takes longer to show obvious physical results than many others.

Major League Baseball has suspended 58 players this year for violations of the Minor League drug program.