8-time All-Star Robinson Cano admits to taking drugs, suspended for 80 games


Eight-time All-Star Robinson Cano has been suspended for 80 games, effective immediately, for violating Major League Baseball's drug agreement, Z Deportes' Héctor Gómez and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal report. Cano, who won a World Series with the New York Yankees and now plays second base for the Seattle Mariners, said in a statement: "Recently I learned that I tested positive for a substance called furosemide, which is not a Performance Enhancing Substance. Furosemide is used to treat various medical conditions in the United States."
Cano said he was given the medication by a doctor, and that he is accepting the suspension "given that I do not dispute that I was given this substance."
Furosemide is a diuretic, which is banned by MLB due to the fact that it can be used to mask the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Jared Diamond, a baseball writer for The Wall Street Journal, tweeted: "Every player knows to talk to somebody with his team before taking any new medication, even if prescribed by a doctor. It's standard protocol. Robinson Cano has been in the majors since 2005. At absolute best, he's guilty of extreme negligence." T.J. Quinn, a writer for ESPN, added that Cano wouldn't have been suspended if MLB had not been able to prove he was using furosemide to mask a banned substance.
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The report has many questioning Cano's once-likely Hall of Fame status. His suspension will end in mid-August, Rosenthal reports, and he will be ineligible for the postseason. Read his statement in full below. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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