Max Kepler, the veteran major league outfielder who most recently played for the Philadelphia Phillies, was suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball on Jan. 9 after testing positive for epitrenbolone, an anabolic steroid.
Kepler, 32, is a free agent and his suspension would begin upon signing with a major league team. He hit 17 home runs in his one season with the Phillies, batting .216 with a .691 OPS. He spent nine previous seasons with the Minnesota Twins, hitting a career-high 36 home runs in 2019. Kepler’s more recent high-water mark was 24 home runs in 2023.
Kepler went 1-for-12 with three walks in the Phillies’ four-game defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
Epitrenbolone, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, is a metabolite of trenbolone, which is an anabolic steroid intended to increase muscle and appetite in cattle.