Orioles reliever Torres suspended 50 games

NEW YORK -- Orioles Minor League right-hander Dennis Torres was suspended for 50 games on Friday after testing positive for a banned substance.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said Torres received a 50-game suspension without pay after a second positive test for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The suspension is effective immediately.

Torres, 25, has split the season between Double-A Bowie and Class A Advanced Frederick, going 5-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. He appeared in a dozen Carolina League games out of the bullpen for the Keys before earning a promotion to the Baysox on May 27.

The 6-foot-3 Massachusetts native was the Orioles' 28th-round pick in the 2012 Draft out of UMass and is 9-9 with a 3.04 ERA in 157 innings over 81 games in his career. 

Players are typically issued a warning following a first positive test for a drug of abuse and a suspension for a second offense. Substances considered "drugs of abuse" by Major League Baseball include cocaine, marijuana, heroin, LSD, ecstasy and other opiates. 

Major League Baseball has issued 67 suspensions to 66 players this year for violations of the Minor League drug program.