Orioles' Adams suspended for banned amphetamine

NEW YORK (AP) - Baltimore Orioles shortstop Ryan Adams has been suspended for the first 25 games of next season after testing positive for a banned amphetamine.

The 25-year-old, an All-Star two years ago in the Double-A Eastern League, has never played in a big league game but was on the 40-man roster at the time of the test. He was assigned outright on Sept. 14 to Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit .224 with 18 doubles, four homers and 20 RBIs in 65 games this year.

Since Neifi Perez was suspended twice and Mike Cameron once for banned stimulants in 2007, the only major league player other than Adams penalized for a stimulant violation was Milwaukee pitcher Mark Rogers in August 2011.

Adams' suspension was announced Friday.

There have been five players suspended this year for performance-enhancing drug violations under the big league testing program: San Francisco outfielder Melky Cabrera and pitcher Guillermo Mota; Oakland pitcher Bartolo Colon; Philadelphia infielder Freddy Galvis; and free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd.