Steven Wright tells BSJ he's willing to explain situation to teammates as Red Sox attempt to navigate his PED suspension

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The day after it was revealed pitcher Steven Wright will miss half the upcoming season (and the postseason, too) following a failed PED test, the Red Sox are in the middle of an uneasy adjustment period regarding their teammate.

As he did minutes after the news was released, manager Alex Cora reiterated Thursday morning that the team "supports'' Wright and will offer him their support.

Asked what that entails, Cora said: "He's part of the team. The suspension is, what, 80 games? So he's still part of the organization. ... You talk to people, that's what I do. Talk to people around the league and see how they've dealt with situations like this. I'm still learning; this is the first time I've had to deal with this. I'll figure it out, we'll figure it out.''

Cora was asked whether Wright would speak to the team to either explain himself or offer an apology.

"He hasn't asked me to have a meeting (with the team),'' Cora said, "but I know that he's talked to players. I think that's the right way to do it.''

Cora said he spoke with Wright Thursday and planned to do so again Friday.

"He knows (he disappointed people),'' Cora said. "They know what I expect out of players -- be genuine, responsible, and transparent. We'll talk. There's not much we can do right now. He's suspended, he talked (to the media) about it (Wednesday) and now we have to move on.''

But that may prove to be a bit dicey. A few Red Sox players, including starters Rick Porcello and Chris Sale, have been outspoken about their disdain for players found to have used PEDS, with Porcello chastising them for "cheating the game.''

Sale, meanwhile, often wears a T-shirt that reads "All me'' —  meaning that his body is natural and not changed by PEDs.

Porcello was asked by MassLive.com Thursday if his feelings had changed now that the player in question is a teammate.

"It doesn't change. I feel the same way that I felt in the past,'' he said.

Asked further if he would like an explanation from Wright, Porcello answered: "Yes.''

Asked if he had been given that explanation, Porcello said: "No.''

"Right now, it's fresh'' said Dustin Pedroia, the longest-tenured player on the team. "Obviously, at a certain time, I'm sure he will (speak). But I think everyone's stance on that part of the game is pretty clear. But you don't want to react a certain way, right away. That's emotional.

"It's obviously a tough situation. Everybody has views and stances on things, but at the end of the day, people make mistakes. You have to support them. There's really nothing else. I don't have an answer. Yeah, we'd all like an explanation, but (a day) after it was announced, we're not going to yell at anybody.''

Asked if Wright would be better off speaking individually to teammates or addressing them as a group, Pedroia said: "That's up to him. That's pretty much how I look at it.''

For his part, Wright said exclusively to BostonSportsJournal.com that had heard support from some players in the wake of his suspension.

"That's the good thing about being with a team like this,'' Wright told BSJ. "It's a family. It's unfortunate, but you've got move on, regardless. It's been nice. The support has been incredible."

Wright said he'd "be up for'' addressing the team collectively.

"I'm going to leave that up to Alex, if he wants me to do that,'' said Wright. "Because it's definitely been a learning experience. You never expect it to happen to you until it happens to you. And I know the biggest cop-out is everyone says, 'I didn't do it, I didn't do it.' I mean, I never intentionally did it. Somewhere I messed up, like I said yesterday.

"If they want me to use it as a learning (experience) ... it was the same thing as last year (when he was suspended after being arrested following a confrontation with his wife, resulting in a 15-game suspension). If someone has questions, privately, I'll be happy to talk to people. I just don't like doing it publicly. I'm a private guy and  I try to keep it private and that's the hardest thing about the last couple of years -- a lot of things have been public and not for a good reason.''

Wright said he hadn't had conversations with either Porcello or Sale, but is aware of their past comments about those found using PEDs.

"I haven't really talked to them about it,'' he said, "because the thing is, I feel the same way. Maybe not as publicly as they have been, but within the organization, within the team. Yeah, you've got to get rid of the guys who are intentionally doing it and unfortunately, it's hard to pick who's doing it intentionally or unintentionally. That's the hardest thing to do.

"When you have a substance come up in your system, it falls on me to provide the reason why. And if it's unintentional, the hardest thing to do is prove it because if you don't know where it came from, it's really hard.''

Some in the medical community have maintained that Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide 2 (GHRP-2) could only show up after being injected, but Wright argued otherwise.

"That's what they said, but that's not true,'' said Wright. "That's what I thought, but I talked to multiple experts. There's a lawyer in Maine and he's had athletes test positive for this and they tested and found it in substances that they got from GNC.''

Asked if he thought the issue could become a divisive one in the Red Sox clubhouse if he can't provide an adequate explanation for his test to some of his teammates who have been outspoken on the matter, Wright said: "If they want me to talk to them, I'll talk to whoever. Because I know the truth and that's important. I have thoughts about how it got there and I'll talk to them. But other than that, they just have to move on.''