Fernando Tatis Jr. Suspension: What Is Clostebol And Does It Treat Ringworm?

MLB handed down a bombshell 80-game suspension to Padres' star Fernando Tatis Jr. after he tested positive for the banned subsance clostebol. 

Clostebol is an anabolic steroid meant to increase muscle mass, but it has the unintended consequence of slowing bone healing, according to Dr. Jerry Hizon.

As part of his work as a pro sports team physician, Hizon served as the PED testing liaison.

Tatis Jr. was 1-to-2 weeks away from his long-awaited return from the December 2021 wrist fracture that has taken nearly two-thirds of the season to heal.

It isn't clear if the substance impacted his recovery time, but the scaphoid bone he fractured is a notoricously slow-healing bone.

The 23-year-old released a statement soon after the suspension was announced in which Tatis Jr. said he took clostebol inadvertently while treating a case of ringworm. 

That ringworm excuse doesn't hold up, according to Hizon.

“Standard ringworm treatments can involve steroids but those are anti-inflammatory, not anabolic steroids," Hizon said.

Ringworm is a skin condition treated with ointments or creams, while most anabolic steroids are known to be administered intravenously by injection. 

There is a chance that Tatis unknowingly ingested a tainted substance, but that point seems moot at this point.

Veteran second baseman Dee Gordon made a similar claim after he was suspended 80 games for taking clostebol in 2016, saying he unknowingly ingested the substance. He dropped his appeal and served the 80 games.

Since signing a 13-year contract in February 2021, Tatis Jr. has suffered a shoulder injury that cost him 30 games, a left scaphoid fracture that cost him over 100 games and now a suspension that will keep him away from the field until next May.