Dodgers hurler Guzman suspended

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball suspended its fifth player this week on Friday when Dodgers pitcher and Major League veteran Angel Guzman received a 50-game ban for a drug of abuse.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced Guzman, who appeared in 55 big league games in 2009 with the Cubs, received the suspension after his second violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for a drug of abuse.

The suspension is effective immediately.

Guzman, 30, signed with the Dodgers this offseason and is currently on the roster of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes but has not yet appeared in a game this year. He spent the 2011 season with the Cubs, pitching in 21 games for Class A Peoria and Class A Advanced Daytona.

Guzman made his Major League debut in 2006 with the Cubs and saw time in the Majors each season through 2009. He missed all of 2010 after undergoing shoulder surgery, then signed with Los Angeles as a free agent on Dec. 13, 2011.

Minor Leaguers are warned after testing positive for a drug of abuse and then suspended after a second violation. The Commissioner's Office does not disclose the specific substance in these cases. Substances considered "drugs of abuse" by Major League Baseball include cocaine, marijuana, heroin, LSD, ecstasy and other opiates.

The Office of the Commissioner has suspended 35 players this year for violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.