Mota gets another chance with Giants
Guillermo Mota returned to the San Francisco Giants after serving his 100-game PED suspension, and manager Bruce Bochy defended the move by saying the reliever served his time and shouldn't be penalized any further.
"Everybody makes mistakes. I do. You do. Unfortunately, we all do," Bochy said. "When you do, there are consequences. He paid the consequences, a pretty good suspension."
Bochy said the Giants believe Mota's story that the substance that caused the positive test came from children's cough medicine.
Plus, the Giants needed bullpen depth. They had posted a 5.91 bullpen ERA the previous 13 games.
"So there was no question to bring him up," Bochy said. "What can you do, condemn the man for that? No, I wouldn't want to do that. You wouldn't want to do it. Your kid makes a mistake, you're not going to do it to them.
"While we don't endorse these guys who are taking PEDs, we also want to be known for being an organization that cares about the person as a whole, not just the player. He served his time. Now it's time for all of us to move on."
That's what Mota wants, too.
As a two-time offender to the MLB joint drug policy, he'd get a lifetime ban with another positive test.
What would he say to Giants fans?
"I wasn't suspended for steroids. I wasn't taking steroids. That's one thing," he said. "Second thing, I appreciate what they do for me. They support me. They're great fans. I can see that every game. They're good fans. They support the Giants. They support me. I want to say thank you for everything."
Mota didn't appear in the Giants' 3-2 win in Houston. Bochy said he could be used in a variety of roles, from long relief to late relief. Before the suspension, Mota was 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA.
He filled the bullpen spot of Jeremy Affeldt, who was put on paternity leave.
