MLB information: Max Kepler suspended 80 video games after optimistic drug check

Major League Baseball introduced Friday that free agent outfielder Max Kepler obtained an 80-game suspension following a optimistic check for a banned performance-enhancing substance.

Kepler, 32, examined optimistic for epitrenbolone, which is a metabolite of trenbolone. The substance is present in some merchandise offered at bodybuilding shops and has been used to advertise cattle development.

Kepler spent the primary 10 seasons of his profession 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.

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He struggled final season, hitting .216 with 18 residence runs and 52 RBIs in 127 video games. In Kepler’s 11-year profession, he has a .225 batting common with 179 residence runs and 560 RBIs.

The Germany native is the primary participant suspended for the substance for the reason that public announcement of penalty particulars started in 2005.

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Kepler accepted the suspension with out contesting the self-discipline by means of a grievance.

Epitrenbolone was the substance that led to a suspension in 2018 for boxer Manuel Charr. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency introduced the next yr {that a} optimistic check for the substance prompted it to disqualify 90-year-old bicycle owner Carl Grove from a world document he had set on the 2018 Masters Track National Championship. 

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Fourteen gamers have been suspended final yr for optimistic checks, together with two below the most important league program. Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended 80 video games March 31, and Phillies nearer José Alvarado was suspended 80 video games May 25.

Even if Kepler doesn’t have a contract by opening day in March, MLB and the union normally enable a suspended free agent to serve his penalty so long as he’s trying to achieve a cope with groups.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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