Pillar: MLB has 'soul-searching' to do after Colabello ban

Kevin Pillar believes MLB kicked one of its good guys to the curb.

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello was suspended 80 games Friday after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. According to his teammate Pillar, the journeyman was wrongfully convicted by the league's protocol.

"He fell victim to a technicality in the system," Pillar told reporters. "And I think that the drug-testing policy and Major League Baseball are going to have some soul-searching to do and they're going to have to figure something out."

Colabello was one of the darlings of the most exciting Blue Jays squad since the 1993 World Series. After years bouncing around independent ball, he became the centerpiece of a feel-good story for the 2015 postseason run. Now, he's ineligible for the 2016 playoffs should Toronto make it.

Pillar doesn't think Colabello deserves to have his name dragged through the mud.

"I know Chris the human being. I know Chris the baseball player. I know his family. I know where he's been. I know what he's gone through. I know what kind of person he is," he said. "And he's not a person that deserves any of the labels as a cheater or as a guy trying to manipulate the system.

"This is a guy that got caught up in a flawed system. I'm a huge proponent of drug testing and I think it needs to be done in this game, because I'm a guy that took a road less traveled as well and I've done everything according to the book. I work hard. I eat the right things. I take the right supplements. And so did Chris."

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said he found out about the positive test Friday morning, while Pillar said he'd known for a month. That's roughly how long ago the banned substance, an anabolic steroid, was found in Colabello's urine.

According to multiple reports, the reason it took so long for the league to announce the official suspension after the test is because Colabello filed an appeal.