Marlins’ Dee Gordon suspended 80 games for performance enhancers

Major League Baseball announced early Friday morning that Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon has been suspended 80 games, effective immediately, for the use of performance-enhancing substances.

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Major League Baseball announced early Friday morning that Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon has been suspended 80 games, effective immediately, for the use of performance-enhancing substances.

The league said in a release that Gordon tested positive for exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol.

Gordon led the league in stolen bases the past two seasons, with 64 in 2014 and 58 in 2015. He made the All-Star team both years. In 2015, he also led the NL in hits and batting average, and won a Gold Glove award.

ESPN reports that Gordon tested positive during spring training, and that he initially fought the suspension but dropped his appeal following Thursday’s game.

"Though I did not do so knowingly, I have been informed that test results showed I ingested something that contained prohibited substances,” Gordon said in a statement.

“The hardest part about this is feeling that I have let down my teammates, the organization and the fans," Gordon said. "I have been careful to avoid products that could contain something banned by MLB and the 20+ tests that I have taken and passed throughout my career prove this. I made a mistake and I accept the consequences."

Marlins president David Samson offered his support to Gordon, while saying that the team did not condone his actions. 

“Dee Gordon is a very important part of our team, and we all love him and support him. That said I do not like or condone what he did,” Samson wrote in a statement. “He is an important member of this organization and will be for many years to come. It is a huge, huge disappointment to the kids, to our fans, to his teammates and to everyone in our organization who works hard every single day to put a product on the field, and off the field, that all Miamians can be proud of.

“He will be back 80 games from now, and he will be welcomed back to this organization, but in the interim period, we expect him — and we are positive — that he will do whatever is necessary to make it up to our fans, to his teammates, and to this organization.”

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Gordon, 28, was batting .266 through the first 21 games of the season with 13 runs scored and six stolen bases. He signed a five-year, $50 million deal with the Marlins in January.

The suspension puts Gordon on track for a late-July return. The Marlins are 9–11 entering Friday.