Free agent outfielder Max Kepler was suspended for 80 games on Friday following a positive test for a banned performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball's drug program.
Kepler tested positive for Epitrenbolone, a substance that led to a suspension in 2018 for boxer Manuel Charr and caused the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to announced the following year it had disqualified 90-year-old cyclist Carl Grove from a world record he had set at the 2018 Masters Track National Championship.
Epitrenbolone is a metabolite of Trenbolone, which is contained in some products used in body-building stores and had been used in products to promote cattle growth.
Kepler, who turns 33 next month, is an 11-year major league veteran, who spent last season with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Kepler was signed by the Minnesota Twins at 16-years old, at the time with the largest signing bonus given to a European-born player, and spent his first 10 seasons in the Twin Cities.
He ended his 2024 season on the injured list and signed a free-agent deal with Philadelphia in the offseason.