Marte suspended for 80 games

NEW YORK — Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star outfielder Starling Marte has been suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

The league said Tuesday that Marte tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone. He will be eligible to return in mid-July.

Marte was an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2016 and moved from left field to center field in the offseason after winning his second Gold Glove. The 28-year-old from the Dominican Republic is hitting .241 with two home runs and seven RBIs this season. The Pirates began play on Tuesday 6-7 through the first two weeks of the season.

Marte said in a statement that “neglect and lack of knowledge led to this mistake.”

“With much embarrassment and helplessness, I ask for forgiveness for unintentionally disrespecting so many people who have trusted in my work and have supported me so much,” he said. “I promise to learn the lesson that this ordeal has left me.”

Pirates president Frank Coonelly he was “disappointed that Starling put himself, his teammates and the organization in this position.”

“We will continue to fight for the division title with the men who are here,” Coonelly said, “and will look forward to getting Starling back after the All-Star break.”

Barring postponements, Marte would be eligible to return for the July 18 home game against Milwaukee and would lose 91 days’ pay from his $5 million salary, which comes to $2,486,339. Under a change to baseball’s drug agreement in collective bargaining during the offseason, he doesn’t get paid on off days during the ban. Under the old agreement, he would have lost 80 days’ pay, which would have amounted to $2,185,782.

Another change in the drug agreement means Marte will not be credited for major league service during the suspension. That would have delayed his eligibility for free agency by a year until after the 2019 season, but he agreed in 2014 to a $31 million, six-year contract that includes club options for 2020 and ‘21.

Under the drug agreement, Marte is ineligible for the 2017 postseason if the Pirates were to advance.