Overview
- Major League Baseball announced the 80-game ban after Kepler tested positive for epitrenbolone under the league’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
- The Associated Press reported that Kepler accepted the suspension without filing a grievance.
- Under MLB’s rules, the suspension covers regular-season games for which he would be eligible and bars postseason participation for 2026, and it can be served while he is unsigned.
- Kepler, who turns 33 next month, is coming off a 2025 season with the Phillies in which he hit .216 with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs on a one-year, $10 million deal.
- MLB and media reports note he is the first publicly announced MLB suspension involving epitrenbolone since detailed disclosures began in 2005, following a year that saw multiple PED bans across the sport.