Free MLB agent outfielder Max Kepler has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball confirmed on Friday.
The 32-year-old German-American slugger, who turns 33 next month, is immediately ineligible to play, a suspension that will carry over if he signs with a team during the 2026 season.
Kepler‘s positive test came back for epitrenbolone, a metabolite of trenbolone, which is prohibited under MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
The league noted that this violation triggers the standard 80-game penalty for a first offense involving performance-enhancing substances.
Players under suspension cannot participate in regular-season or postseason games and do not receive pay during the ban.
Kepler’s career
An 11-year veteran of Major League Baseball, Kepler spent the first decade of his career with the Minnesota Twins before joining the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2025 season.
As a free agent at the time of the announcement, he was not under contract but remains subject to MLB’s drug program.
Known for his left-handed power and reliable outfield defense, Kepler holds the MLB career record for home runs by a German-born player and contributed to multiple Twins postseason campaigns, including division-winning seasons in 2019 and 2020.
Epitrenbolone has been linked to several past doping cases across professional sports.
Notably, heavyweight boxer Manuel Charr was suspended in 2018 for testing positive for the substance, and the US Anti-Doping Agency disqualified a 90-year-old cyclist from a world record for the same metabolite in 2020.
MLB did not provide further details about the circumstances of Kepler‘s test or indicate whether he intends to appeal the suspension.
The ruling marks a major setback for the veteran outfielder as he seeks his next team, casting uncertainty over his immediate future in the major leagues.
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