Marlon Byrd reportedly suspended 162 games for PED violation

— -- Cleveland Indians outfielder Marlon Byrd has been suspended for 162 games by Major League Baseball after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, according to multiple reports.

The news was first reported by Cleveland Scene.

Byrd, 38, had previously been suspended for PEDs in 2012, when he was a free agent after being released by the Boston Red Sox. He received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for Tamoxifen.

Byrd, who signed a minor league contract with the Indians in spring training but made the major league team out of camp, is hitting .270 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 115 at-bats this season.

He is the second Indians outfielder to receive a PED suspension this season.  Abraham Almonte received an 80-game suspension before the season for the performance-enhancing drug Boldenone.

Almonte had been expected to get significant playing time to start this season with outfielder Michael Brantley sidelined at the start following shoulder surgery. Brantley made his debut on April 25 but was shut down again on May 14 because of his shoulder. He hit .231 with seven RBIs in 11 games this season but there is no timetable for his return.

Last season, splitting time between Cincinnati and San Francisco, Byrd batted a combined .247 with 23 home runs and 73 RBIs in 135 games.

A career .275 hitter, Byrd has connected for at least 20 homers and driven in 70 or more runs in each of the past three seasons. He batted .271 against left-handers and has a career .286 average against lefties.

Byrd began his career in 2002 with Philadelphia and finished fourth in voting for the 2003 National League Rookie of the Year. He has 159 career homers while playing for 10 different teams during his 15-season career.