MLB star Max Kepler handed 80-GAME drugs ban in huge bombshell
Former Philadelphia Phillies star Max Kepler has received an 80-game suspension after failing a drugs test, it has been announced.
MLB said in a statement on Friday that Kepler has been banned after testing positive for Epitrenbolone, a banned performance-enhancing substance that helps build muscle.
The German-American outfielder is currently a free agent after spending the entire 2025 season with Philadelphia on a one-year, $10million deal.
If he signs with a new team for the 2026 campaign, Kepler, who turns 33 next month, will automatically be ineligible for postseason play due to the PED suspension.
He is said to have accepted the suspension without contesting the discipline in a grievance.
During his one-year spell with the Phillies he produced a slash line of .216/.300/.391 with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs in 127 games.
MLB free agent Max Kepler has received an 80-game suspension after failing a drugs test
Kepler, who spent 10 years with the Twins (pictured) before a one-year stint with the Phillies, tested positive for banned anabolic steroid Epitrenbolone
Kepler previously spent the first 10 seasons of his MLB career with the Minnesota Twins, where he reached the 20-homer plateau three times. He also registered the best season of his career in 2019 with 36 dingers, 90 RBIs and an .855 OPS.
Across 11 years in the big leagues, the Berlin-born player owns a .235/.316/.425 line with 179 home runs and 20.6 WAR.
He was slowed in 2024 by left patellar tendinitis and had core surgery after the season to repair a sports hernia.
Epitrenbolone, a metabolite of trenbolone, is an anabolic steroid intended to increase muscle and appetite in cattle, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
A number of athletes have failed tests for it in the past, including 90-year-old cyclist Carl Grove - who had just set an age-based world record in July 2018.
US sprinter Erriyon Knighton was handed a four-year doping ban in 2024 after testing for Epitrenbolone, while fellow track-and-field star Jarrion Lawson, boxer Manuel Charr and UFC athlete Fabricio Werdum previously failed tests for the steroid.
The German-American outfielder will automatically be ineligible for the postseason in 2026
Kepler is the first player suspended by MLB for the substance since public announcements of the penalty details began in 2005.
A staggering 14 baseball players were suspended last year for positive tests, including two under the major league program.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar was banned for 80 games on March 31 and Phillies closer Jose Alvarado for 80 games on May 25.
Even if Kepler doesn't have a contract by opening day in March, MLB and the union usually allow a suspended free agent to serve his penalty as long as he is attempting to reach a deal with teams.
