Cubs prospect busted with over 20 pounds of meth in a bag

Ya know, if you’re going to put 21 pounds of methamphetamine (and another 1.2 lbs of oxycodone for good measure) in your car and drive around, best to stay in your lane and not crank up the engine to find some extra speed. Right? Unfortunately, that is not what Cubs prospect Jesus Camargo did in Eagle County, Colorado (elevation 6,601 feet, so yes, it is a mile high, by the way) last Wednesday.

After driving erratically while drifting back and forth in different lanes going way too fast, Camargo was pulled over and subsequently arrested for Class 1 and 4 drug felonies when officers sniffed out a duffel bag of drugs and cash in the back seat and trunk.

All kidding aside, what the heck is a 25-year-old baseball prospect (or anyone, for that matter) who should be gearing up for minor league camp doing driving around with all that weight? If this isn’t yet another exclamation point on the chronic issue of disgraceful minor league pay, I don’t know what is… well, okay, maybe this particular incident isn’t the best way to drive that point home.

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Not that anyone should be selling drugs to help make ends meet, but according to police reports, Camargo was asked to deliver “a bag” from a friend in Phoenix to someone in Colorado for $500. Strangely, Camargo didn’t really question whether there were drugs in the bag according to one report, although he contradicted that according to police reports when he said he didn’t question what kind of drugs were in the bag.

There were also two passengers in the car with him who apparently had different stories about their trip to Colorado, although they were released when police decided they had no knowledge of the narcotics.

I’m not one to play judge, jury, and executioner, but… when one of my buddies asks me to deliver a mystery package 705 miles away, I’m either going to question it and find out what he’s asking me to deliver OR I’m going to ask for a lot more money than $500.

This is certainly going to put a damper on Camargo’s season (and probably career) with the Cubs, but one of the beautiful things about this country is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Perhaps we can chalk this whole thing up as a misunderstanding and Camargo was just itching to go on a dope trip with his buds before he came back to the dirt and lush grass in Mesa at the Cubs complex.

While this isn’t the best news from a Cubs or MLB PR standpoint, if there’s a silver lining to this cringe-inducing story for Rob Manfred, Heisenb… I mean, Camargo did tell officers he would never do any drugs himself because of the anti-doping policies and testing administered by MLB. Score one for MLB drug testing, I guess.

If Camargo can somehow find his way back onto the field and mound this season for the Cubs, he will probably be ecstatic to be worrying about limiting bombs or two baggers rather than dealing with the justice system. He’ll just wanna make sure to ice down after throwing for the first time in a while, whether it’s back with the Cubs or against a team in the now regional California Penal League.

Hey, it worked out alright for Ricky…