Dee Gordon suspended 80 games for positive PED test

LOS ANGELES -- Miami Marlins second baseman and defending National League batting champion Dee Gordon was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol, both considered performance-enhancing substances, Major League Baseball announced in a stunner on Thursday night.

Gordon drove in the tying run in the Marlins' three-run seventh-inning rally to complete a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The suspension was announced after the game.

"Though I did not do so knowingly, I have been informed that test results showed I ingested something that contained prohibited substances," Dee Gordon said, through a statement released by the MLB Players Association. "The hardest part about this is feeling that I have let down my teammates, the organization, and the fans. I have been careful to avoid products that could contain something banned by MLB and the 20+ tests that I have taken and passed throughout my career prove this. I made a mistake and I accept the consequences."

Drafted as a shortstop by the Dodgers in 2008, Gordon made his first All-Star team as a second baseman in 2014, then was traded to Miami before last season. He put together a career year with the Marlins, hitting .333/.359/.418 with 205 hits and 58 stolen bases.

He was the first National League player to lead the majors in hits and stolen bases since Honus Wagner in 1908, and the first NL player to lead the NL in batting average and steals since Jackie Robinson in 1949.

Gordon is hitting .266/.289/.340 with six steals in 21 games this season.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who managed Gordon with the Dodgers as well, spoke highly of his second baseman on Monday.

"What I liked about Dee was his swing. You have to remember, he was 140-something pounds when he came up. Now he's slowly over a few years built up, I think he's 170 pounds," Mattingly said Monday. "This is a kid who has put on mature strength, along with a pretty good swing, and obviously the speed tool isn't going away."

Gordon parlayed his breakout season into a five-year, $50 million contract this offseason, buying out at least two free agent seasons plus an option for a third free agent season in 2021.

With a $3 million salary in 2016, Gordon will lose roughly $1.3 million in salary with this suspension, which begins immediately.