Testing for PEDs was "not done during MLB’s lockdown period" and its frequency was "down considerably -- though it was not absent -- during the 60 regular-season games and the postseason" in '20, according to Joel Sherman of the N.Y. POST. An agreement between MLB and the MLBPA "calls for use of a Montreal lab, certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency, for testing." But that lab was "closed for much of the period from mid-March through early July in which MLB also did not operate," so there was "no testing during that time." Additionally, sources said that in some jurisdictions there was "difficulty with the protocol due to COVID-19 restrictions, such as sample collectors not being deemed essential personnel." Sherman noted the disruption in normal testing was "not made public because the Joint Drug Agreement has confidentiality clauses" and also to "prevent exploitation." Testing is "controlled by an independent administrator so that neither MLB nor the union is alerted to who is being tested or when." Sources said that the protocol "restarted in spring training 2.0 and carried through the postseason," with "roughly 1,000 tests done." Sherman noted personnel from seven teams contacted "were not tested in spring training 2.0," and "were not tested until late in the regular season -- and then only once" (N.Y. POST, 11/8).
