Matt Harvey banned 60 games after testifying he gave drugs to Tyler Skaggs
Washington PostAPR 2022
Harvey deserved to be punished and this ban may be too lenient considering players busted for PED use usually get longer suspensions. Now that we've seen the tragedy that can result from the distribution of opioids among athletes, a message must be sent that it won't be tolerated.
Harvey proved he has strong morals by testifying while knowing it could lead to MLB discipline. He's taken his punishment without appeal, and he's been a model citizen while with Baltimore. He deserves a second chance to continue his career.
Baseball was quick to react to possible opioid abuse by players in the wake of Skaggs' death, but investigations haven't turned up any positive tests of these drugs in MLB. So perhaps the Angels were an outlier or maybe adding opioids to the "drugs of abuse" list helped reduce their prevalence in clubhouses.