Former New York Yankees second baseman, and star, Robinson Cano is the latest to join the PED suspension club.
Former New York Yankees, now current Seattle Mariners second baseman, Robinson Cano has been suspended 80 games for violating the leagues’ joint drug agreement.
Mariners 2B Robinson Canó suspended 80 games after testing positive for Furosemide. He will start the suspension immediately. pic.twitter.com/cQs41P6tfD
— MLB (@MLB) May 15, 2018
The drug that Cano had been using was Furosemide. Cano said in a statement that the drug had been given to him by a doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical issue.
In that statement, Cano emphasized that he did not take this drug to enhance his performance on the field.
“I would never do anything to Cheat the rules of the game that i love…I have never tested positive for a performance enhancing drug for the simple reason that i have never taken one.”
Cano had been out of the Mariners lineup with a hand injury that put him on the disabled list. Prior to the injury, he had been hitting .287 with four home runs and 23 RBI.
Since leaving the Yankees after the 2013 season, his legacy had begun to go downhill. He chased the big money instead of staying with the team that he was already the face of and took a lot of heat for it. He hit .309 with 204 home runs while donning the pinstripes since his major league debut in 2005. During that span, the Yankees would win a World Series in 2009, the first and only one that Cano would see in New York.
The suspension took former teammate C.C. Sabathia by surprise. Sabathia told Newsday’s Erik Boland that, “It’s disappointing…surprising because I knew Robbie, but the Ryan Braun thing nothing surprises me.”
Other people throughout the sports world chimed in on Twitter about Cano’s suspension.
Aaaand excuse coming in 3….. 2…… 1……
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) May 15, 2018
Guess Robinson Cano is a few years from getting his own TV interview show and starring on Shark Tank …
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) May 15, 2018
Maybe A-Rod could have Cano for his initial guest on his first ESPN special.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 15, 2018
Blame A Rod https://t.co/bT4cOKWNQf
— Evan Roberts (@EvanRobertsWFAN) May 15, 2018
It is natural for the comparisons of Cano to Alex Rodriguez, especially considering that the two were teammates in the Bronx. Cano saw the heat the “A-Rod” took during the battles he had with MLB. Since the two suspensions, Rodriguez has done a great job at salvaging his reputation. Current teammate Nelson Cruz is another example of a player coming back from a suspension and saving his career and reputation
Fans of Cano will come back and support the 35-year-old who is in the middle of a 10-year-contract with the Mariners. Where this hurts him will be when his name appears on the voter’s ballot for Cooperstown. Voters are notorious for not voting in players that have been accused of or have been suspended for taking a banned substance.
Cano has accepted the suspension and will begin serving it right away.
