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Detroit’s Perez gets 80-game suspension

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From the Associated Press

Detroit Tigers’ infielder Neifi Perez was suspended for 80 games Friday after testing positive for a third time for a banned stimulant, a penalty that finishes his season.

Perez was suspended for 25 games July 6 when he tested positive for a second time. Under baseball’s labor contract, a player who tests positive for the first time is sent for counseling.

Perez has been the only player suspended by baseball for stimulants since they were banned before the 2006 season.

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His first suspension had been set to end after Friday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox, but Tigers President Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t say whether Perez would have been restored to the active roster absent the new positive test.

Under baseball’s labor contract, a player cannot be disciplined multiple times for a positive test stemming from the same use of a banned substance, meaning Perez had to take a prohibited stimulant more than once.

Another positive test would lead to a suspension to be determined at the discretion of Commissioner Bud Selig, with Perez having the right to have an arbitrator review the penalty.

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His initial suspension cost him $396,175, and the second will cost him $792,350 -- a total of $1,188,525 of his $2.5-million salary. He will miss the final 54 games of the regular season and finish serving the suspension next year, if he is signed.

Shortstop Edgar Renteria was put on the 15-day disabled list by the Atlanta Braves, one day after he sprained his right ankle while trying to field a hard grounder against the Houston Astros.

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