The Washington Nationals and Gio Gonzalez could not have received any better news the day before Grapefruit League play began, as Gio Gonzalez addressed the media with fantastic results.
Amanda Comak of The Washington Times tweeted on Friday afternoon:
Bill Ladson of MLB.com reported the statement Gonzalez made on Friday:
Like I said before, I’ve never taken performance enhancing drugs and I never will. Two days after the story broke, I was tested for blood and urine. Both came out negative like I expected. Throughout my entire career, it has been like that. I look forward to handling this with MLB and putting this behind me, and I’m looking forward to the season.
Gonzalez did not take any questions after addressing the media on Friday afternoon.
Gonzalez’s tests were conducted two days after the reports about his involvement initially surfaced. Gonzalez claimed innocence from day one of the initial reports and stated that he had not been involved with the Miami-based clinic.
Gonzalez finished his first season in Washington with a 21-8 record while compiling a 2.89 ERA with 207 strikeouts. He figures to be an intricate part of the pitching arsenal in D.C., which will be spearheaded by Stephen Strasburg.
With this incident failing to derail the Nats and the first spring training game being played Saturday, it is all about baseball—hopefully until the end of October.
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