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DENVER, CO - MAY 19: Trea Turner #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on from the dugout during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Monday, May 19, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Casey Paul/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into Opening Day with a core of veteran stars who are a year older and facing more pressure than ever to capture a World Series title.
The team’s payroll is largely committed to players in their mid-30s, like Zack Wheeler, Bryce Harper and JT Realmuto. As those players take another shot at a championship, they will be facing more questions about just how long their primes can last.
But the organization is facing another question beyond the aging of its roster. After outfielder Johan Rojas officially received an 80-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drug (PED) policy, the Phillies have been hit with by far the most steroid suspensions in the sport since 2009.
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Philadelphia Phillies Face PED Suspension Problem
“Rojas becomes the second Phillie in as many years to be disciplined under MLB’s program,” Cole Weintraub wrote for NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Reliever Jose Alvarado received an 80-game suspension last season. Free-agent, and member of the 2025 club, Max Kepler was also disciplined this offseason for performance enhancing drugs.”
In addition to Rojas, Alvarado and Kepler, former Phillies who have received such suspensions include Daniel Stumpf, Alex Asher, Antonio ********, Carlos Ruiz, Freddy Galvis and JC Romero. No other franchise has had more than four players suspended in the same timeframe, let alone three within the same year.
After Rojas’ suspension, the Phillies face some real questions about whether there is a systemic cause behind the use of banned substances. And in response to those questions, franchise shortstop Trea Turner sent a clear message.
“I don’t think we’re proud of it,” Turner said of the trend, per The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes. “I think the integrity is still there. We have players that do things the right way. Every once in a while, stuff’s going to happen like this.”
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Philadelphia Phillies Star Trea Turner Details Where Supplements Come From After Suspension News
Though Turner tried to frame the team’s record PED punishments as a routine issue within baseball, the growing trend within the Phillies’ organization is hard to ignore.
The veteran shortstop added that he still believes his teammates are, as a group, committed to following the rules, though players like Rojas might have been misled by other advisors.
“I take what the team gives me — mostly supplements and things approved by the team,” Turner added, per Hayes. “Sometimes you don’t know who other guys are getting their advice from. I think as a core, and as a group, I think we do things the right way, and I think we’ve got to make sure we keep learning and make sure these things don’t happen going forward.”
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