Chris Colabello will get a fresh start start in Cleveland after signing a minor league deal that includes an invitation to big league spring training.
Colabello served an 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s drug policy in 2016, when he tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. He has since denied knowingly taking banned substances.
“I would never, have never, will never compromise the integrity of baseball — ever — in my life,” he said in an interview with Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell.
Colabello hit 15 home runs for the Blue Jays in 2015, when he played in a career-high 101 games. The 33-year-old right-handed hitter appeared in 10 games this season before serving his suspension. After returning he played with the Blue Jays’ triple-A Buffalo affiliate, where he hit .180 with a .248 on-base percentage and five home runs in 40 games.
Colabello officially became a free agent earlier this month.
