Jake Diekman suggests minimum salary for suspended PED users

Pirates outfielder Starling Marte was suspended on Tuesday for the positive test of a banned substance. Rangers pitcher Jake Diekman suggested a punishment that is different than ones stated under MLB’s Joint Drug Agreement.

Because it is his first positive test, Marte received an 80-game suspension. A second would result in a 162-game suspension and a third carries a lifetime ban.

In his statement, Marte mentioned his mistake will cost him the “the high price to pay of being away from the field that I enjoy and love so much.” Granted, missing games (and subsequent pay) is significant, Diekman wants to a penalty that hits players in the pocket for the remainder of their career.

You get suspended, you make the minimum for the rest of your career. Take something they care about.

— Jake Diekman (@JakeDiekman) April 18, 2017

While this is something that will likely not come to fruition, it serves as another example of players feeling the current punishments aren’t harsh enough. Former big league pitcher Dallas Braden also offered a solution centered on earnings.

I've said it B4 & I'll say it again, cap the earning power & you'll put a cap on cheating. The Integrity of our game is at stake. #makeamove

— Dallas Braden (@DALLASBRADEN209) April 18, 2017

Joel Sherman of the New York Post estimates Marte will lose around $2.5 million as a result of the suspension.

Marte is in yr 4 of 6-yr, $31M deal. Not paid during ban (about $2.5M in loss), but now #Pirates have to wonder what they have in him

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) April 18, 2017