A big blow to the Seattle Mariners’ season might have just ballooned into something much more dire for their playoff hopes.
Second baseman Robinson Cano has been suspended 80 games without pay for violating major league baseball’s joint drug agreement. A press release from MLB said Cano tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic.
Cano said he didn’t know it was a banned substance when it was given to him by a doctor in the Dominican Republic, for what he said was to treat a medical ailment.
The news was first reported by Hector Gomez of ZDeportes of the Dominican Republic, Cano’s home country, and then confirmed by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Source confirms: #Mariners’ Cano will be suspended 80 games for violating baseball’s joint drug agreement. https://t.co/rIcEp7Sztd
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken—Rosenthal) May 15, 2018
MLB released a statement saying Cano’s 80-game suspension is effective immediately and Cano’s time on the disabled list because of his fractured hand he suffered when he was hit by a pitch on Sunday will count toward his 80-game suspension.
But even if the eight-time All-Star recovers quickly, the suspension would keep him out until Aug. 14.
And even if the Mariners were to end their 16-year postseason drought (the longest active streak in major American professional sports), Cano would be ineligible to play in the postseason, per MLB rules in its drug agreement.
Cano later released his own statement.
“This substance was given to me by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical ailment,” he said in the release. “While I did not realize at the time that I was given a medication that was banned, I obviously now wish that I had been more careful.
“For more than fifteen years, playing professional baseball has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. I would never do anything to cheat the rules of the game that I love, and after undergoing dozens of drug tests over more than a decade, I have never tested positive for a Performance Enhancing Substance for the simple reason that I have never taken one.
“Today I decided to accept MLB’s suspension. This was the most difficult decision I have ever made in my life, but ultimately the right decision given that I do not dispute that I was given this substance. I apologize to my family, friends, fans, teammates and the Mariners organization.”
pic.twitter.com/ywAI41mHzL
— Robinson Cano (@RobinsonCano) May 15, 2018
But the MLB drug agreement states that the presence of a diuretic or masking agent in a player’s urine specimen is treated as a positive test result it’s determined (through an independent administrator) that the player intended to avoid detection of his use of another prohibited substance.
This will cost Cano almost $12 million of his 2018 salary.
The Mariners had placed Cano on the 10-day disabled list with the first significant injury of his Mariners tenure on Monday, though it wasn’t known how long Cano would be out. But he’s likely to require surgery. Cano was in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning seeing a hand specialist.
Cano had fractured the fifth metacarpal in his right hand when he was hit by a pitch in Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Tigers. So he is expected to miss at least a month, if not longer.
The 35-year-old No. 3 hitter for the Mariners was widely considered a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame after his career ends, though any link to steroids or PED use would certainly tarnish his career accomplishments as it did for many before him.
IMPORTANT ON CANO: players are NOT automatically suspended for using diuretics. The suspension means MLB was able to prove he was using it to mask a drug. Cano tested positive before the season, appealed and dropped the appeal. https://t.co/3l47Mkya46
— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) May 15, 2018
The Mariners released that they also learned of this Tuesday morning. They said Cano appologized to the organization and his teammates and that they are supporting him.
“We were disapointed to learn today that Robinson had violated the terms of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the Mariners released. “Our organization fully supports the Program.
“Robinson made a mistake. He has explained to us what happened, accepted the punishment and has apologized to the fans, the organization and his teammates. We will support Robinson as he works through this challenge.”
And Cano isn’t the only player on the Mariners’ current roster to have been suspended for drug use.
Nelson Cruz got a 50-game suspension in 2013 for an “error in judgement” he said for his ties to Boigenesis of America, a dufucnt anti-aging clinic in Miami. He said he was seeking help from the clinic to recover strength lost because of a gastrointestinal infection.
And Dee Gordon received an 80-game suspension in 2016 with the Marlins after testing positive for exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol, performance-enhancing substances.
Cano was hitting .287 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 39 games.
Earlier this season Cano passed Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby for second-most home runs by a second baseman in major-league history. His 305 career home runs trail only Jeff Kent (377) for most by a player who spent the majority of his career playing second base.
Cano was also on pace to join the 32 players in major league history who have 3,000 career hits (he’s currently at 2,417). Only two second basemen have more than 3,000 career hits and both are in the Hall of Fame (Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie).
Cano is a two-time Gold Glove winner, a five-time Silver Slugger and he was last year’s All-Star game MVP.
Since his debut with the New York Yankees in 2005, no one has played in more games than Cano (2,037), with Ichiro (now a member of the Mariners front office) right behind him (2,017 games). Cano has appeared in at least 150 games each of the past 11 seasons.
Cano’s test irregularity was found in an exam over the winter in the D.R. In meantime there were discussions about possible appeals. cano decided to drop appeal in last few days.
