Bartolo Colon Suspension: Oakland A’s Pitcher Suspended 50 Games For Drug Violation [Video]

Former Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon of the Oakland Athletics Bartolo Colon has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for a failed drug test, MLB announced Wednesday afternoon.

Colon, 39, reportedly tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, the same substance that San Francisco Giants’ outfielder Melky Cabrera was suspended for last week.

“I apologize to the fans, to my teammates and to the Oakland A’s,” Colon said in a statement released by the players’ association. “I accept responsibility for my actions and I will serve my suspension as required by the joint drug program.”

Colon’s suspension, the fifth dealt out by the league this year for substance abuse, is effective immediately, MLB said in a statement.

ESPN notes that due to the ban, Colon will lose the remaining $469,945 of his $2 million base salary this year, as well as $850,000 in additional bonuses based on innings he could have potentially made.

“The Oakland Athletics are disappointed to learn of today’s suspension of pitcher Bartolo Colon,” the team said in a statement. “The organization fully supports Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and its efforts to eliminate performance-enhancing substances from our game. Per the Basic Agreement, the A’s will have no further comment.”

Colon, who spent last season with the New York Yankees, is 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts this year and was 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA in his past five outings.

Over the course of his 15-year career, the two-time All-Star and 2005 Cy Young Award winner has a 171-122 record and 4.05 ERA.

ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian has more on Bartolo Colon’s 50-game suspension and the effect it will have on the A’s in the video below: