MLB investigating Bartolo Colon off season surgery

Bartolo Colon is off to a good start this season.  The Yankees signed him to a one year contract in the off season after he was out of the big leagues in 2010.  Thus far, he is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in four starts.

His off season surgery which took place in the Dominican Republic has come under scrutiny by MLB.  Dr. Joseph R. Purita flew to the Dominican Republic from Miami to assist a team of doctors in the elbow surgery.  The team apparently injected stem cells from Colon's back into his elbow to repair ligament damage.  Purita normally uses Human Growth Hormones to perform such surgeries, but in this case used Colon's own stem cells due to MLB rules.

Yankee GM Brian Cashman heard about the procedure through Colon's agent, and reported it to MLB.  The procedure is now under investigation by the league because it could be an offense warranting suspension if Human Growth Hormones were in fact used.  For now, the procedure seems to be a perfectly legal aid in Colon's bounce back year, but it could lead to a suspension if it violated MLB rules.

Colon is from Altamira, DR.

Colon with the White Sox in 2009, by Keith Allison on Flickr