A Korean baseball club was fined Monday following a positive drug test by its former player.
The Korea Baseball Organization fined the Lotte Giants 10 million won (US$8,730) for their inadequate player management, after outfielder Jim Adduci flunked a doping test.
(Yonhap)
Adduci, a one-time Texas Ranger, was suspended by the Korea Anti-Doping Agency for 36 games last Friday after testing positive for oxycodone, a synthetic opiate. The Giants promptly waived him.
Adduci told the KADA in an earlier hearing that he'd been taking painkillers prescribed in the United States to deal with chronic back problems. He also said he didn't know oxycodone was a banned substance here because it isn't an anabolic steroid or hormone.
This was Adduci's second KBO season. In 2015, he batted .314 with 28 home runs, 106 RBIs and 24 steals, becoming the first Lotte player to enjoy a 20-20 season.
This year, Adduci batted .291 with seven home runs, 41 RBIs and 15 steals in 64 games.
Adduci is the sixth KBO player to fail a doping test and the third foreign player, after a pair of former big league pitchers -- Runelvys Hernandez in 2009 and Ricardo Rodriguez in 2010. Hernandez and Rodriguez were both released by their clubs before their test results were announced. (Yonhap)