Posted on 05/15/2018 3:35:06 PM PDT by TBP
Mariners star Robinson Cano has received an eighty-game suspension for testing positive for substances banned by the MLB-MLBPA Joint Drug Agreement, as first reported by Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101 (via Twitter) and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Since the ban begins immediately, Cano will be eligible to return in the middle of August.
Cano was suspended for a diuretic known as furosemide that is prohibited by the JDA among other diuretics and masking agents, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted and the league has since announced. Cano has issued a statement through the MLBPA (Twitter link) in which he says the “substance was given to [him] by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical ailment.” And a source claims to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter) that Cano was receiving treatment for high blood pressure, with PED tests before and after the test in question coming back clean.
That claim seems to offer a potential explanation at first glance, but the full context must also be considered here. Players are advised clearly not to take substances that have not been cleared in advance, a lesson drilled in through prior suspensions in the faces of claims of innocence.
More importantly, as ESPN.com’s T.J. Quinn rightly points out on Twitter, the JDA does not treat diuretics and masking agents in the same manner it does banned performance enhancing drugs themselves. Unlike in the case of tests that reveal PEDs, intent is required to support the application of the standard 80-game ban for first-time offenders in the cases of diuretics or masking agents. Here’s the language from the JDA, Section 3(F):
“The presence of a Diuretic or Masking Agent in a Player’s urine specimen shall result in the Player being re-tested. The presence of a Diuretic or Masking Agent in a Player’s urine specimen shall be treated as a positive test result if the [Independent Program Administrator] determines that the Player intended to avoid detection of his use of another Prohibited Substance.”
Cano, 35, had been discussing the matter with the league since the test results came in over the winter, per Heyman (via Twitter). It seems fair to presume that the league felt there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that Cano had avoided detection of a PED. Cano had just hit the DL with a fractured right hand that was likely to keep him out for some time. By dropping his right to an appeal now, he can rehab that injury while serving out the suspension, though ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the process was already underway.
The implications, to be sure, are many. Cano will not be eligible to draw his usual salary, meaning he’ll forfeit about $10MM and save the team the same amount. And he’ll surely lose some sponsorship opportunities, costing him further money. The veteran second baseman also will not be eligible to participate in the postseason if the Mariners make it in.
More broadly, a respected player on a potential Hall-of-Fame trajectory has now tainted his legacy. The former Yankees star has produced both before and after bolting to the Mariners via free agency before the 2014 season. He’s a lifetime .304/.354/.493 hitter with 305 home runs in over 2,000 games of MLB action. With defense and baserunning factored, in Cano has been valued at 67.5 rWAR and 54.5 fWAR over his career.
Cano remains under contract for five more seasons beyond the present one. He’s slated to earn $24MM per season from 2019 through 2023. While that means the M’s won’t be looking for a long-term replacement, they will need to replace him in the near-term. For the immediate time being, Gordon Beckham is up to take a roster spot. But perhaps it’s still conceivable the M’s could move Dee Gordon back to the infield while filling in for him in center with any number of other players.
Yankee fans have been complaining for years about not re-signing him. Still upset you?
Robby beat out his old buddy Melky who was only suspended for 50 games.
Maybe the Yankees knew something.
I take Lasix it’s a piss pill, what else does it do?
The timing of this announcement is suspicious to me. He just went on the disabled list after breaking his hand, and was going to be out for six weeks or more anyway ... so I wonder if MLB just sat on this news because they didn't want to suspend a star player.
As soon as he signed Jay-Z as his agent, you knew his career with the Yankees was over.
Well, we were very upset at losing him... and at having the lead anchor Jacoby Ellsbury hung around our neck with the money that would have been saved. Holy Cow, was Ellsbury a terrible free agent, among the worst in history!!!
But, the whispers among Yankee fans was that the Yankees had let him slip away because he was known to be a doper. I was never sure that they didn’t just whisper that to placate the outraged mob, especially when the Yankee offense was so terrible. (The anger subsided with Sterling Hitchcock’s ascent.) Now it looks like it was real.
Frankly, apart from the Ellsbury fiasco, it seems like the Yankees handled the Cano situation right: ditch the doper, and quietly and locally explain why in a way that won’t slander him to his new team.
It is a diuretic. It’s possible high concentration might mask other drugs. Writing this before I cheat and look it up.
Is Hector Gomez related to Pedro Gomez, the lispy ESPN reporter who seemed to have a one-way lust affair with Barry Bonds back in the day?
Well, at least he’s not with the Yankees anymore!
Sorry. I could have just read down the article.Cap’n obvious moment. Just read a couple sentences and ran to the comments. I wonder what drug he was masking.
I loved rookie Robby and milky they made the Yankees fun again.
Maybe he should play down there.
He’s been juicing his entire career
He’s suspended , not only for 80 games, but any post season games also. If you wonder about MLB’s grounds, he isn’t appealing the decision
Masking agents for roids. Don’t get too upset, he isn’t appealing the suspension. They’ve got the goods on him
Milkie is Melkie? Hehehe.
I even went Melkite for a while, but for a totally unrelated reason.
“Robinson Cano Suspended For 80 Games”
Never heard of him. Know not and care less.
He’s eligible to return in August, so he won’t miss any postseason games.
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