Robinson Cano’s 80-game suspension this week for a positive drug test was hardly a shock for at least one former teammate.
Mark Teixeira, who played alongside Cano in the Yankees infield for five seasons, said on “The Michael Kay Show” Thursday that he was “not surprised” his ex-teammate tested positive for a banned substance.
“I don’t really want to get into too much detail, I love Robbie, but I’m not surprised,” he said. “I don’t want to get too much further but I think a lot of people are trying to say the same thing. (Yankees GM Brian) Cash(man) had to catch himself in an interview a couple days ago, but yeah, not surprised.”
Cano, 35, tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic that is often used to mask performance-enhancing drugs. The Mariners second baseman claims he was using it to treat a medical condition and appealed the suspension, but finally dropped the appeal this week.
Teixeira, who retired in 2016, said players are about “50-50” on who they know is using and who is not.
“You kinda know,” he said. “This is what we do for a living. You see guys when they’re young. See who they’re hanging out with. You just kinda know as a ballplayer. Fifty-percent of guys popped I’m like, of course, knew it, others are a little surprising.”
The former Yankees first baseman admitted to being surprised at guys like Ryan Braun and Rafael Palmeiro, but speaking specifically about Cano, Teixeira pointed to a link.
“Listen, Robbie, look at his situation here: Robbie Cano’s assistant was on the list for Biogenesis. Of course, he has an assistant, you know, buys stuff for him. Alex Rodriguez got popped by Biogenesis. Melky (Cabrera) got popped. They’re best friends,” he said. “When someone gets lumped into that group, it’s because there’s evidence. There’s a paper trail. There’s a smoke trail.”
Teixeira, who maintains he never used performance-enhancing drugs, also said there are plenty of guys he played with that are no longer in the league that he was sure used PEDs. He even suggested some may already be in the Hall of Fame.
“Everyone knows those guys. There are guys in the Hall of Fame that never got exposed,” he said. “It is what it is. Guys have done it, guys have gotten away with it, guys have gotten popped. There’s a story for everything.”
Kay told Teixeira that David Wells came on his show recently and said that players should face a lifetime ban after the first offense.
While Teixeira did not go that far, he agreed on harsher penalties.
“I agree we need to look at longer bans, or if you get popped your contract can be voided. Absolutely look at those things,” he said. “If we’re really going to get tough on these guys we need to get tougher penalties.”
