Although Robinson Cano is ready to return from an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs Kurt Suzuki Jersey , his comeback is doomed to be short-lived. Even if the Seattle Mariners qualify for the postseason, Cano will be ineligible to participate.Meanwhile, in Houston, Roberto Osuna is fresh off a 75-game banfor violating Major League Baseball'sdomestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. And he's ready, willing and permitted to help the Astros win a second straight World Series championship.Something seems wrong, no?If the question is how much cynicism MLB is willing to tolerate, there is.For their part, Cano and the Mariners would undoubtedly love to be together if the team does indeed make its first postseason since 2001. He betrayed everyone's trust when he got popped for using a banned masking agent,but he's still a $240 million megastar who had been going strong (see his .825 OPS) even at the age of 35.However, this isn't about what's best for Cano and the Mariners.Mark Cunningham/Getty ImagesAlong with harsher regular-season penalties, postseasonbans became an official part of MLB's and the MLB Players Association's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program in 2014. That promised an additional blow to violators' wallets. It would also bar them from redemption on baseball's biggest stage."Our hope here is that the adjustments that we鈥檝e made do inevitably get [the number of violators] to zero," said MLBPA chief Tony Clark, per the Associated Press (via theNew York Times). He added: "I am hopeful that players make the right decisions that are best for them, for their careers and for the integrity of the game."Clark may be getting his wish.Per Baseball-Almanac.com, there were 21 PED suspensions in 2012 and 2013 alone. There have been only 22 since 2014. Not surprisingly, none of the players involved was traded to a contender later in a given season.Which brings us back to Osuna and a cringe-worthy situation that might be avoided in the future.Since the details of his case are being kept under wraps, only so much is known about how, exactly, the former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander has found himself in hot water. But there is a clear timeline:May 8:Osuna isarrested and charged with assault of a female victimMay 17: According toVjosa Isai and Wendy Gillisof theToronto Star http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-dansby-swanson-jersey ,Osuna is ordered to stay away from a specific Toronto building, not communicate with his alleged victim and not consume alcohol or possess weaponsJune 18:Osuna's attorney, Domenic Basile, confirms to Betsy Powell of Star that the charge revolves around an "alleged domestic abuse" for which Osunawill plead not guiltyJune 22:MLB concludes its investigation, and Commissioner Rob Manfred hands Osuna the third-longest suspension under its domestic violence policy, which went into effect August 2015July 30:Following supposed "unprecedented" due diligence, the Astrosacquire Osuna from the Blue JaysAugust 6:Osuna returns to the moundWhile Osuna's suspension is over, his criminal case is not.According to Matt Young of theHouston Chronicle, the All-Star closer has a court date in Toronto on Sept. 5. Basile plans to seek a postponement and a "peace bond," which would result in the charges being dropped in exchange for Osuna's promise that he will stay on good behavior.If that doesn't pan out, things will proceed and possibly result in Osuna being convicted and/orbarred entry from the United States.In the meantime, the Astros have a public relations nightmare on their hands.There's no taking issue with the actual content of the trade. Houston only sent three spare assets (right-handers Ken Giles, David Paulino and Hector Perez) to Toronto in exchange for Osuna, who's still only 23 and under team control through 2020.Still, general manager Jeff Luhnow sought to get out ahead of the inevitable backlash. Thus came astatement that expressed confidence that "Osuna is remorseful" and that he'll "fully comply with our zero tolerance policy related to abuse of any kind."Luhnow's bit on "zero tolerance" was rightfully panned as being blatantly disingenuous, however. The bit about Osuna being remorsefulearned a pointed clarification from Basile. Via ESPN's Buster Olney:Buster Olney Buster_ESPNRoberto Osunas lawyer speaking about the word quot;remorsefulquot; that was used by the Astros in reference to their new reliever: quot;My client is not remorseful of being guilty of any criminal activity,quot; Basile said Wednesday. quot;Hes obviously remorseful of the circumstances.quot;Luhnow may have been hoping that his team and its fans would graciously accept Osuna, but there's been some hesitance for both. Ace pitcher Justin Verlander referred to the trade as a "tough situation." When one female fan expressed her frustration on social media, the reaction was swift and severe."Astros fans have always stuck together," the fan told Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. "It was crazy to see how this trade tore them apart a little. Everyone took a side."But then Ozzie Albies Jersey , it's doubtful that Luhnow and the rest of Houston's decision-makers ever thought everything would be hunky-dory after they went ahead with the trade. Or even cared, for that matter.They're poker-faced pragmatists whose chief concern is winning another World Series.Since there's no guarantee that Osuna's legal situation will keep him on the field beyond 2018, that was almost certainly the Astros' primary motivation in trading for himnow rather than waiting until after he had cleared his suspension and/or his name. If it ends with Osuna getting the last out in the World Series, they're not going to be quick to regret it.This isn't the first situation of its kind that MLB has encountered in the years since it implemented its domestic policy. That distinction belongs to Aroldis Chapman, who still bears a scarlet letter after his girlfriend told police he choked her during an argument inOctober 2015.But even with him, there's no comparison to Osuna.Elsa/Getty ImagesChapman hadn't been charged when the New Yankees first acquiredhim from the Cincinnati Reds in December 2015, and he ultimately never was. And while the Chicago Cubs eventually traded for him in July and he helped them win their first World Series in 108 years, that was after the flame-throwing lefty had already served a30-game suspension.Granted, Major League Baseball may never be able to implement a perfect domestic violence policy鈥擣anGraphs' Sheryl Ring wrote an excellent rundown of the complications on that front. But for the sake of its reputation with the legions of baseball fans withactualzero tolerance policies for such matters, theunparalleled cynical nature of the Osuna trade should have the league scrambling to try to do better.Given the latest circumstances, the most apparent way to do that is by copying the postseason ban portion of the Joint Drug Agreement and pasting it onto the domestic violence policy. If it must only come in tandem with a specific regular-season suspension threshold鈥攕ay, 50 games鈥攖hen so be it.If nothing else, it would add another layer of deterrence for players. It could also help prevent trades like one that sent Osuna to Houston, in which the acquiring team elevates baseball matters above basic human decency.Understand, this isn't about drawing a moral equivalence between the transgressions of Cano and Osuna.Assuming hisexcuseof trying to treat a medical condition is as bunk as it sounds, Cano was only trying to improve his ability to entertain. He just didn't do so in a way that MLB has deemed appropriate.Relative to that, an alleged act of violence against another human being is more severe.Ultimately, this is about what MLB must do to be both a lucrative institution and one that its fans can be proud of. To this end, more compassion and a little consistency would be a good start. PITTSBURGH (AP) Cole Hamels‘ stuff was just as filthy as Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon remembered. The changeup. The breaking ball. All of it.If the newly acquired veteran pitcher can figure out his fastball too, the NL Central leaders will be that much tougher to hang with heading down the stretch. Hamels shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates over five effective innings in his return to the National League on Wednesday night as the Cubs jumped out early and cruised to a 9-2 victory.Hamels (6-9) http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-mike-foltynewicz-jersey , brought over in a trade with Texas last week, gave up one unearned run on three hits. The four-time All-Star struck out nine and walked two to pick up his first win for a National League team in more than three years.”You want to be able to win a game for a new team and the guys here,” Hamels said. ”They’ve been playing outstanding baseball all season and you just kind of want to get in the mix. For them to be able to put up the runs early, kind of made my job a little bit easier.”Chicago brought in the 34-year-old Hamels to give its patchwork starting rotation a boost. The left-hander struggled at times for the Rangers this season and came in having won just twice since Memorial Day. His new teammates did their best to put him at ease, staking him to a four-run lead before he even took the mound.The Cubs batted around in the first against Nick Kingham (5-6) despite having the ball leave the infield just once. A pair of Pittsburgh errors helped , so did a wild pitch and a hit by pitch by Kingham, who is a leading candidate to lose his spot in the starting rotation after the Pirates traded for Chris Archer on Tuesday.”It was a rough first inning all the way around,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. ”There were some balls not hit hard that were well placed. We didn’t handle the ball well and (Kingham) had a guy caught and didn’t execute a play. His overall execution wasn’t what we’ve seen in the past.”Willson Contreras went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for the Cubs. Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist had three hits apiece while Kyle Schwarber and Javy Baez each added two hits and an RBI for Chicago. Reliever Brandon Kintzler worked 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief on his 34th birthday a day after arriving in a trade from Washington.The centerpiece of Chicago’s deadline moves, however, was Hamels.Though he never retired Pittsburgh in order and needed 95 pitches to record 15 outs, he had little trouble earning his 153rd career win and first for a National League team since pitching a complete-game shutout against the Cubs on July 25, 2015 while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.Hamels hit 96 mph on the radar gun and reminded his manager of the player who helped the Phillies to a World Series title in 2008 against Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays. A decade later, Maddon finds himself sharing a dugout with Hamels instead.”I’m really looking forward to this,” Maddon said. ”He’s very capable of getting on a nice role with high-end stuff because his stuff is still (good).”Francisco Cervelli went 3 for 3 with an RBI for Pittsburgh and Starling Marte added two hits but the Pirates never threatened after falling into the early hole to lose for just the fifth time in their last 21 games.SCARY MOMENTHome plate umpire Chris Guccione exited in the top of the third inning after a foul ball off the bat of Heyward smacked Guccione’s mask. He was steadied in the moment by Pittsburgh catcher Cervelli and attempted to stay in the game before going to be evaluated by medical staff. Guccione did not return, with Ed Hickox taking his place behind the plate.TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: 3B Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) has not been cleared to return to baseball activities but manager Joe Maddon said he does not anticipate Bryant needing much time to be game-ready once he’s given the go-ahead by trainers. … RHP Yu Darvish (right triceps tendinitis) will have another bullpen session on Saturday.Pirates: OF Corey Dickerson (strained left hamstring) is on track to come off the 10-day disabled list on Saturday. … 1B Josh Bell (strained left oblique) is doing core work but remains out indefinitely. .. IF Jung Ho Kang developed a recurrence of left wrist discomfort while working out at the team’s minor-league complex in Bradenton, Florida. The team will meet with Kang’s representatives before determining the appropriate steps.UP NEXTCubs: Return to Wrigley Field for a four-game weekend series against San Diego starting Thursday. Mike Montgomery (3-4, 4.03 ERA) faces Robbie Erlin (1-3, 3.47) in the opener.Pirates: Archer will make his 178th career start – and first for someone other than Tampa Bay – on Friday when the Pirates begin a three-game set with St. Louis.—