clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Giants prospect Sonny Vargas suspended 60 games

The left-handed pitcher was suspended for use of the performance-enhancing drug Stanozolol.

MLB: JAN 09 MLB Lockout Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

With MLB in a league-induced lockout, there’s not a whole lot of San Francisco Giants news going around. And unfortunately, what little news there is happens to currently be negative.

On Friday, MLB announced that Giants pitching prospect Sonny Vargas had been suspended for 60 games due to the use of Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug. It’s the same drug that resulted in an 80-game suspension for Gregory Santos last summer.

He is the second Giants Minor Leaguer to receive a suspension this offseason, following a 50-game suspension handed out to reliever Austin Reich for the use of Amphetamine.

Vargas, a left-handed pitcher who recently turned 21, was an international signing from Venezuela in 2017. He spent the 2021 season in the Arizona Complex League, where he had a 5.33 ERA and 4.52 FIP, with 69 strikeouts to 18 walks in 54 innings.

His suspension will begin at the start of the season, which means Vargas will be eligible to return (likely to the Low-A San Jose Giants) sometime in mid-June.