Robinson Cano’s failed drug test is the second one in as many years.
Robinson Cano, a Major League Baseball second baseman currently with the New York Mets, has tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. Stanozolol is most commonly known by its trade name of Winstrol.
Cano was suspended for 162 games as the penalty for a second violation of the MLB Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The 162-games suspension forces Cano to sit out the entire 2021 baseball season.
Cano was previously suspended for 80 games when he tested positive for the diuretic furosemide (Lasix) as a player for the Seattle Mariners on May 15, 2018. He was traded to the New York Mets shortly after he returned from his suspension later that year.
The NY Mets took a chance when they acquired Cano in 2018.
“We were extremely disappointed to be informed about Robinson’s suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” stated Mets president Sandy Alderson. “The violation is very unfortunate for him, the organization, our fans and the sport. The Mets fully support MLB’s efforts toward eliminating performance enhancing substances from the game.”
The suspension is a huge blow for the 38-year old baseball player from the Dominican Republic. Cano is considered one of the sport’s best second baseman but the two drug-suspensions have tarnished his reputation and diminished his chances of being admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Cano will forfeit the $24 million salary he was due to received in 2021. While this is a huge loss for Cano during the twilight of his career, he has several big paydays ahead of him. The NY Mets still owe him $48 million for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The NY Mets took a chance on Cano when they acquired him in 2018. The former Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and former chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon defended Cano during the acquisition as not being a “drug cheat”.
“I do think it’s important remembering Robbie was not suspended for a PED. He was suspended for a diuretic,” Van Wagenen said in 2018.
“I don’t think he’s a drug cheat,” Wilpon noted in 2018. “I could be proven wrong, but I don’t think he’s a drug cheat.”
The statements by Van Wagenen and Wilpon did not age very well. Cano has now tested positive for a clear performance-enhancing drug which for all intents and purposes confirms that he is a “drug cheat”.
Thosar, D. (November 18, 2020). Mets second baseman Robinson Cano tests positive for steroid, will be suspended 162 games. Retrieved from nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-robinson-cano-positive-ped-test-20201118-n5oqyojf4fezlefb7ddrw7u2s4-story.html