Former Twins star Max Kepler suspended 80 games for PED use

Kepler, a free agent, is coming off a season in Philadelphia where he hit .216 with 18 homers.

Aug 11, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Max Kepler (26) looks on during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images | Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

Former Twins outfielder Max Kepler has been suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

"The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that free agent outfielder Max Kepler has received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Epitrenbolone, a performance enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program," MLB announced.

According to the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), Epitrenbolone is a form of trenbolone, a "synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid, which has been misused for performance enhancement in sports." Trenbolone was found to be extensively used by Russia in its 2016 doping scandal.

Kepler, 32, is a free agent. He's coming off a single season with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he slashed .216/.300./391 and hit 18 home runs while producing 52 RBIs in 2025.

Before being signing a one-year, $10 million deal with Philadelphia, Kepler spent 10 seasons with the Twins. During his time in Minnesota, Kepler hit 161 home runs and batted .237. His most successful season in a Twins uniform came when he slugged 36 home runs and hit for a .252 average in 2019, when the baseballs, not Kepler, were allegedly juiced.

A native of Berlin, Germany, Kepler signed with the Twins in 2009.

For his career, Kepler has hit for a .235 average while clubbing 179 home runs and driving in 560 runs. He has appeared in 16 playoff games during his 11-year career, hitting .151 in 64 plate appearances.

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