Mariners’ Robinson Cano Suspended 80 Games For Drug Violation

Seattle Mariners All-Star Robinson Cano has been suspended 80 games for a drug violation, Major League Baseball stated Tuesday.

Robinson Cano Suspended 80 Games For Positive Drug Test

The 35-year-old Dominican second baseman tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic more commonly known as Lasix.

According to ESPN, MLB’s drug policy states that players are not automatically banned for using a diuretic — which increases the passing of urine — unless the league has evidence that they attempted to use the drug as a masking agent during a urine test.

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“Recently I learned that I tested positive for a substance called furosemide, which is not a performance-enhancing substance,” Cano said in a statement issued by the MLB Players Association. “Furosemide is used to treat various medical conditions in the United States and the Dominican Republic. This substance was given to me by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical ailment. 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.”

“For more than 15 years, playing professional baseball has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. I would never do anything to cheat the rules of the game that I love, and after undergoing dozens of drug tests over more than a decade, I have never tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance for the simple reason that I have never taken one.”

Per MLB.com, Cano is in the fifth year of a 10-year, $240 million deal he signed with the Mariners during the 2013-14 offseason. Seattle (23-17) is third in the AL West, 1.5 games behind the Houston Astros and first-placeLos Angeles Angels.

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Cano — who is in his fifth season with the Mariners — has been injured since Sunday, when he sustained a fractured metacarpal in his right hand after getting hit by a pitch from the Detroit Tigers’ Blaine Hardy. Cano’s time on the disabled list — which according to MLB will be around 6-8 weeks if he needs surgery — will count toward his 80-game ban, the league said.

The second baseman was hitting  .287 with four home runs and 23 RBIs this season.