Chris Davis regains exemption for "what he was suspended for", says Orioles manager

On the Orioles' Opening Day next year, Chris Davis will not get to play because he'll be suspended for reportedly taking Adderall without an exemption. That suspension carried over from the final 17 games of the regular season plus the seven games the O's played in the postseason. According to Buck Showalter, Davis has regained his exemption, so he'll serve the final game of the suspension for using a substance that he is now again exempted to use.

At the time Davis was suspended, the indication was that he had received an exemption for Adderall in the past but was denied one starting some time after he was with the Orioles organization. That followed MLB deciding to crack down on the number of Therapeutic Use Exemptions it was issuing to players.

Davis was then suspended 25 games in September for a second positive test for a banned stimulant. Those types of drugs are on a different scale for suspensions than steroid-type drugs. A first positive test only triggers a warning and extra testing.

Showalter told 105.7 in Baltimore on Tuesday morning that Davis now has an exemption "for what he got suspended for." Is it worth parsing the phrasing to note that he did not name Adderall or any particular drug? Probably not.

As to why it was imperative to the league that Davis not have an exemption to use Adderall for the 2014 season but now he will be allowed one for 2015, well, your guess is as good as mine. What happened to "too many exemptions"? What extra was needed for Davis to show to the league that he really, really needed that exemption for the future even if they denied it for him before?

The league has never exactly been ahead of the curve or supremely organized when it comes to drug testing, so it's not much of a surprise they haven't started to look like they know what they're doing yet.

Davis' performance in 2014 was so disappointing that it probably can't be explained by one thing only. Some of it was probably that he was unable to legally take a needed drug. Now it seems he will have that obstacle removed. Hopefully that proves to be good news for the Orioles.