ASTROS NEWS
Astros' Ronel Blanco suspended after being ejected when foreign substance found in glove
May 15, 2024, 3:46 pm
Ronel Blanco has been suspended for 10 games. Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.
Astros starter Ronel Blanco received a 10-game suspension Wednesday for violating MLB’s prohibitions on foreign substances after being ejected from the game against the Oakland Athletics.
The suspension was announced by Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations. The suspension will begin Wednesday night unless Blanco appeals the penalty, which also includes an undisclosed fine.
Blanco was ejected at the start of the fourth inning of the 2-1 win over Oakland on Tuesday after umpires found a foreign substance that first base umpire Erich Bacchus said was “the stickiest stuff I’ve felt on a glove.”
Third base umpire Laz Diaz ejected Blanco after a check of his glove before he threw a pitch in the fourth inning. The umpires, Blanco and Houston manager Joe Espada stood at the mound for a couple of minutes discussing the issue before the right-hander was ejected.
Bacchus said there was nothing on Blanco’s glove when he checked it in the middle of the first, but he discovered it when he did his second check before the fourth.
“I felt something inside the glove,” Bacchus said. “It was the stickiest stuff I’ve felt on a glove since we’ve been doing this for a few years now.”
After Bacchus discovered the substance he called the rest of the crew in to confer.
“Everybody checked the glove to make sure we all had the same thing and he had to get ejected because he had a foreign substance on his glove,” Diaz said.
Blanco denied using an illegal substance.
“Just probably rosin I put on my left arm,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “Maybe because of the sweat it got into the glove and that’s maybe what they found.”
Espada added that when he went to the mound he saw “white powder” inside Blanco’s glove.
“It looked to me when I grabbed the glove (that) there was some rosin,” Espada said. “You’re not allowed to use rosin on your non-pitching hand and that’s what it looked like to me. It was a little bit sticky with the moisture and the sweat but that’s what it looked like to me.”
Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut, allowed four hits and struck out one in three scoreless innings Tuesday. He has a 2.09 ERA this season.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
One of the nuggets that came out of Nick Caserio's press conference this week, was his thoughts on the job Bobby Slowik has done as an offensive coordinator. When asked if the team has considered sharing the offensive play calling, Caseiro responded with an emphatic, “absolutely not.”
Caserio went on to praise the job Slowik has done this year, and to say the team's struggles in the second half this season is due to execution.
This stance is consistent with what we've heard from Texans insiders that believe Slowik will be back next season. As much as many Texans fans believe a change at OC could help CJ Stroud, who's shown regression this year, it doesn't appear Slowik is going anywhere.
To be fair, most teams aren't looking to replace their coordinators when they're leading their division and marching toward the postseason for the second straight year.
Number crunching
When comparing Stroud's stats to last season, there is a clear dropoff in 2024. But a lot of that has to do with the addition of Joe Mixon, especially when it comes to touchdowns.
Mixon is third in the NFL with 11 rushing TDs, while Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary only combined for 6 over the entire 2023 season. One could argue the passing offense has regressed, but one could also argue the offense overall is more balanced.
Stroud is still Top 5 in passing yards, heading into this week's games. And even if we account for the bye week, Stroud will still be Top 10 after this week's slate of games.
The most concerning number to keep an eye on is sacks. Only one QB has been sacked more than Stroud, who's been sacked 41 times. CJ's protection has gotten better since Juice Scruggs was moved to guard, and Jarrett Patterson was inserted at center.
If Stroud starts getting hit again at a high level, that may be the one factor that could make the front office rethink their plans at coordinator. However, if the Texans do make a change, we expect them to address their o-line coach before any changes at OC.
Be sure to watch the video above for our full breakdown of the Texans offense, the coaching staff, and our thoughts on how the Azeez Al-Shaair suspension will impact the team.