Having spent the better part of the past three seasons in Akron, Ohio, playing Double-A ball for the Indians, John Drennen at least had minor league free agency to look forward to this offseason. He still does, but now such freedom comes with the caveat that he has run afoul of baseball's drug testing program. The 24-year-old Drennen, a corner outfielder, faces a 50-game suspension for testing positive for Clomiphene, a performance-enhancing substance.

Cleveland did not foresee Drennen's pro struggles when they selected him 33rd overall in the 2005 draft out of Rancho Bernardo High in San Diego. The organization saw explosive bat speed that made it willing to look past fringy supporting tools. But then Drennen spent parts of the 2006-09 seasons with high Class A Kinston, batting .246/.329/.355 with 16 home runs in 296 games, and most of the bloom left the rose.

Drennen rebounded somewhat to bat .300/.355/.434 in 440 at-bats for Akron last season. He managed a similar line this season—minus a few singles—batting .256/.367/.444 with three homers in 117 at-bats for the Aeros.

• On Monday, MLB announced a 50-game suspension for 27-year-old righthander Edgar Ramirez, a reliever with Double-A Binghamton in the Mets system. He tested positive for Methylhexaneamine, a performance-enhancing substance.

A 36th-round pick from Louisiana State in 2006, Ramirez appeared in nine games this season (two starts), notching a 4.91 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over 18 1/3 innings. He struck out 12 and walked eight.