Well, this is a late-night story we didn’t see coming. Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon has been suspended 80 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances:
Marlins 2B Dee Gordon suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances, effective immediately.
— MLB (@MLB) April 29, 2016
Specifically, Gordon tested positive for the banned substances exogenous testosterone and clostebol:
wow, dee gordon suspended 80 games! pic.twitter.com/gVIXp0qjk2 — Erik Malinowski (@erikmal) April 29, 2016
Gordon just signed a five-year, $50 million contract in the offseason, and will lose just over $1.6 million for this suspension:
Dee Gordon signed a five-year, $50M extension this offseason. He’ll lose about $1.63M to his suspension. If he stays clean, rest guaranteed.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 29, 2016
The 28-year-old has been a National League All-Star each of the last two seasons, and was a particularly notable performer in 2015. Gordon led the NL in batting average (.333), hits (205), and stolen bases (58) in 2015. He also won the Gold Glove for NL second basemen, and had a 4.9 WAR.
Dee Gordon Last 3 Seasons Hits 406 2nd Triples 22 T-1st SB 128 1st — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 29, 2016
This is one of the game’s better players — and definitely second basemen — we’re talking about. Gordon only has eight career homers, which brings out the “PEDs weren’t helping him!” reactions. And perhaps his numbers weren’t greatly assisted by PEDs. But as Wayne Randazzo points out, PEDs aren’t all about strength and power:
PEDs aren’t always about home runs and throwing harder. They help you run faster, recover more quickly and get paid. Still gets rewarded.
— Wayne Randazzo (@WayneRandazzo) April 29, 2016
The Gordon news broke after the Marlins got an impressive four-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. So, this news takes a lot of fun out of the big sweep.
This is also the second notable 80-game suspension for PEDs over the last week in MLB, as the Toronto Blue Jays’ Chris Colabello was suspended for the banned substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.
