MLB news: Max Kepler suspended 80 games after positive drug test

Major League Baseball announced Friday that free agent outfielder Max Kepler received an 80-game suspension following a positive test for a banned performance-enhancing substance.

Kepler, 32, tested positive for epitrenbolone, which is a metabolite of trenbolone. The substance is found in some products sold at bodybuilding stores and has been used to promote cattle growth.

Kepler spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Minnesota Twins after signing there as a 16-year-old in 2009. Last season, he signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

He struggled last season, hitting .216 with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs in 127 games. In Kepler’s 11-year career, he has a .225 batting average with 179 home runs and 560 RBIs.

The Germany native is the first player suspended for the substance since the public announcement of penalty details began in 2005.

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Kepler accepted the suspension without contesting the discipline through a grievance.

Epitrenbolone was the substance that led to a suspension in 2018 for boxer Manuel Charr. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced the following year that a positive test for the substance prompted it to disqualify 90-year-old cyclist Carl Grove from a world record he had set at the 2018 Masters Track National Championship. 

Fourteen players were suspended last year for positive tests, including two under the major league program. Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended 80 games March 31, and Phillies closer José Alvarado was suspended 80 games May 25.

Even if Kepler does not have a contract by opening day in March, MLB and the union usually allow a suspended free agent to serve his penalty as long as he is attempting to reach a deal with teams.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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