Former A's and current Diamondbacks reliever Brad Ziegler took to Twitter to voiced his displeasure with the contracts known performance-enhancing drug users are getting, stating that the current penalty system isn't working.
Ziegler was set off by the reported four-year, $53 million deal Jhonny Peralta got from the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Peralta served a 50-game suspension at the end of the 2013 season for his connection with the Biogenesis scandal that saw 14 players suspended, including Alex Rodriguez, who is appealing the suspension.
It pays to cheat...Thanks, owners, for encouraging PED use “@JimBowdenESPNxm: Peralta - Cards agree to 4-year deal: http://t.co/rkpdAO3QaL”
— Brad Ziegler (@BradZiegler) November 24, 2013
People really don't understand how this works. We thought 50 games would be a deterrent. Obviously it's not. So we are working on it again.
— Brad Ziegler (@BradZiegler) November 24, 2013
Just trying to make our game better when I leave it than it was when I got into it. Don't have all the answers, but trying, & MLBPA knows...
— Brad Ziegler (@BradZiegler) November 24, 2013
Ziegler is the Diamondbacks' player union rep. He played with the A's from 2008 to 2011 before being traded to Arizona for Brandon Allen and Jordan Norberto.
Free agent Bartolo Colon served a 50-game suspension at the end of the 2012 season, and did not receive any further punishment for his ties to the Biogenesis case. The 40-year-old Colon looks poised to cash in on a season that saw him go 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA in 30 starts.
