Major League Baseball has endured a black eye of sorts this season, as five players have now been suspended this year for use of performance-enhancing drugs. Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon became the latest player added to the list, as he was suspended 80 games after Thursday’s win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gordon tested positive for exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol, which is a modified form of testosterone. The 28 year old is coming off a year in which he became the first player in MLB history to win a Gold Glove, lead the Majors in stolen bases and win the batting title all in the same season.
Gordon signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Marlins in the offseason. His suspension adds more credence to questions over MLB’s drug testing, which came under fire when former catcher Taylor Tegarden was shown in an Al-Jazeera America documentary – released in December 2015 – discussing his use of PEDs.
Tegarden was suspended 80 games earlier this month. While some players believe in the current system, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw believes improvements are needed because of the low probability of abusers getting caught, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:
“If there was a type of testing that guaranteed every person that used PEDs would be caught, I would be all for it. I don’t think the problem is the length of the suspension, but more the improbability of being caught.”
Modifications to the current collective bargaining agreement, which expires Dec. 1, can be made. However, that very much is an unlikely course of action. The Biogenesis scandal in 2013 highlighted the PED problem in baseball, and the league has since made significant strides in cleaning the sport.
The current punishments — 80 games for a first positive test, a full season (162 games) for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third — were put into place in 2014 in response to the scandal. Former New York Mets closer Jenrry Mejia received a lifetime ban earlier this year.
