Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano has been suspended 80 games without pay for violating baseball’s joint drug agreement, the league announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Cano, 35, tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic used to help treat fluid retention and swelling that is caused by congestive heart failure, liver disease, kidney disease, or other medical conditions, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Furosemide is listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s website as a prohibited substance because of its use as a masking agent.
Shortly after the suspension was announced, Cano issued a statement on his Twitter account.
Cano said the substance was given to him by a doctor in his native Dominican Republic.
“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,” Cano wrote.
The slugger was recently placed on the 10-day disabled list with a fractured fifth metacarpal in his right hand after being hit by a pitch on Sunday.
Cano is a veteran of 14 MLB seasons and has averaged 146 games per campaign since breaking into the league in 2005. An eight-time all-star, he was hitting .287/.385/.441 this year with four home runs and 23 RBI.
The drug suspension ensures Cano won’t be allowed to play for the Mariners if they reach the playoffs, and could also impact his Hall of Fame chances. He has tallied 2,417 career hits so far and with five full years left on his 10-year, $240-million contract, reaching the 3,000-hit mark is not a stretch. However, even if he reaches that cherished milestone, his Cooperstown candidacy could now be looked at differently by voters.
“Robinson made a mistake,” the Mariners said in a statement. “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.”
Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Furosemide, a diuretic.
Cano said he would accept the suspension, but said taking the drug was inadvertent. “This substance was given to me by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical ailment,” he said in a statement. “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.”
“I would never do anything to cheat the rules of the game I love,” he said.
Cano, 35, did not specify what ailment was being treated by Furosemide.
Furosemide, which is sold under the brand name Lasix, and other diuretics are not in and of themselves performance enhancing. But they can be used to flush out the system and mask the presence of other drugs. Lasix is also commonly used to prevent bleeding in racehorses.
Robinson Cano seemed a virtual shoo-in for the Hall of Fame before his positive PED test emerged Tuesday. (Photo: Jennifer Buchanan, USA TODAY Sports)
Goodbye, reputation.
Goodbye, Hall of Fame.
Goodbye, playoffs.
All of that sympathy toward Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano when he broke his hand Sunday turned to disgust less than 72 hours later.
Cano violated Major League Baseball’s drug testing policy and on Tuesday was suspended for 80 games.
Cano called it a careless mistake, saying he was taking a diuretic called furosemide for a medical condition he declined to reveal, insisting it was not a performance-enhancing drug.
MORE ON CANO
“This substance was given to me by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical ailment,’’ Cano said in a statement released by the Major League Players Association. “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.’’
Sorry, no one bought it.
Not the independent testing agency.
Not Major League Baseball.
Not even the players' union, which originally finalled a grievance, but with a hearing scheduled Tuesday, dropped the appeal. The union discussed dropping the appeal late last week even before Cano broke his hand, sidelining him four to six weeks.
Pure and simple, Cano was using a masking agent.
And Cano got caught.
He actually tested positive for the drug during the winter. He was re-tested by the independent drug administrator, who conducted his own investigation.
Baseball's joint drug agreement stipulates that if the independent program administrator (IPA) actually believed Cano, he would have been cleared as a first-time offender in cases involving diuretics.
The IPA needed proof that Cano was using the drug as a masking agent.
The investigation revealed that Cano had clear intent to mask another illegal drug.
Cano was charged with a positive test, no different than if he were taking anabolic steroids.
“The presence of a diuretic or masking agent in a players’ urine specimen shall be treated as a positive result if the [IPA] determines the players intended to avoid detection of his use or another prohibited substance,’’ according to Section 3(F) of the Joint Drug Agreement.
The players' union filed a grievance 20 days ago, but with the hearing scheduled Tuesday, informed MLB officials they were dropping the appeal.
The suspension will cost Cano $12 million. It will cost the Mariners games in the standings by the time he’s even eligible to return in late August. And even if the Mariners happen to end their 17-year playoff drought, he would be ineligible to play in the postseason, anyways.
“I apologize to my family, friends, fans, teammates and the Mariners organization,’’ Cano said. “I am extremely grateful for the support I have received during this process, and I look forward to rejoining my teammates later this season.’’
The Mariners wish they could share the same sentiment. They are stuck with Cano for the next five years, owing him $120 million through 2023. They have no idea how much of his past production was impacted by performance-enhancing drugs, whether he’ll ever again be the same player, but knowing he longer will be marketable to their fanbase.
The eight-time All-Star has 2,417 hits, and with a .304 career batting average and 305 homers, was on a path to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
That path will forever be obstructed.
No player ever suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, or even directly linked to PED use, has ever been elected to the Hall of Fame.
Oh, sure, Cano has had a fabulous career, with baseball making him richer than in his wildest dreams, but everything he’s done will forever be tarnished.
Cano will keep on playing, and maybe he’ll keep producing, but never again will we look at him the same.
It doesn’t matter if he gets 3,000 hits, or even 4,000 hits, he’ll forever be remembered in baseball infamy as a cheater.
The latest, and greatest, who just happened to get caught.
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Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano was suspended for 80 games on Tuesday following a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug, MLB announced.
The league released the following statement:
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that second baseman Robinson Canó of the Seattle Mariners has received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Furosemide, a Diuretic, in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Canó's 80-game suspension is effective immediately.
Over the weekend, the Seattle Mariners placed Cano on the disabled list due to a fractured fifth metacarpal in his right hand. As it turns out, the Mariners will have to get used to playing without him for the foreseeable future.
Furosemide is a diuretic and Cano, via a statement on social media, admits that he took the substance, though he denies doing so knowingly as a performance enhancer:
Per baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy, a first-time offender receives an 80-game suspension. After that, the punishments are upped, with a second-time offender receiving a full-season banishment, and a third-time offender receiving a lifetime ban from the sport. As with all players who fail a PED test, Cano is no longer eligible for this year's postseason. (Not that it might matter -- Stephen Oh at SportsLine has the Mariners losing 3.5 percent off their playoff odds due to the Cano suspension.)
Cano, 35, had been in the midst of what seemed like a typical season. He'd hit .287/.385/.441 over his first 39 games, giving him a 129 OPS+. His reliability had been one of his greatest assets: he'd appeared in at least 150 games in every season since 2007, and hadn't posted an OPS+ below 110 since 2008. Cano seemed prime to one day join the 3,000 Hit Club, as he sits fewer than 600 knocks away with five years remaining on his contract.
Whether Cano reaches that mark or not, his Hall of Fame case will include questions about the legitimacy of his accomplishments. As such, consider this a sad day -- for the Mariners, for Cano, and for fans who have enjoyed him as one of baseball's best pure hitters.
As for the Mariners, they had already committed to giving Gordon Beckham a look at the keystone. Their other options are limited, with Andrew Romine serving as their backup infielder and Taylor Motter being the only other upper-minors infielder on the 40-man roster. The Mariners could, theoretically, also move Dee Gordon back to second base, with Guillermo Heredia potentially taking on a more prominent role.
