Marlins star suspended
Dee Gordon will miss 80 games after testing positive for two drugs
Second baseman Dee Gordon needs to repair his image.
LOSANGELES— The mood was surreal given themoment, a somber scene that belied a team that had just completed a rare achievement.
Instead of a joyous room, the door to the Miami Marlins’ clubhouse opened late Thursday to the grim face of team president David Samson bearing the news that Dee Gordon, one of their best and most beloved players, had just been suspended for 80 games after testing
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positive for performancedrugs.
Rather than discussing the satisfaction of having completed a four-game sweep of his former team, manager Don Mattingly had to address the betrayal of a player he also had on his Dodgers teams for three seasons and regards like a son.
“Definitely shocked and surprised,” Mattingly said.
“These guys love Dee, and we’re going to support him. I
feel like Dee’s one of my kids, to be honest with you, because I’ve known him so long. So we’re going to love him, and then we’re going to support him. He’s been a big part of the success that we’ve had.”
Whether Gordon’s suspension unravels a Marlins season that has begun to show promise— as the furor surrounding then-manager Ozzie Guillen’s comments supportive of Fidel Castro started a domino effect that doomed the 2012 team — will be the storyline of the next three months.
Gordon left the clubhouse Thursday without speaking to reporters but issued a statement Friday morning in which he admitted ingesting something that contained prohibited substances.
“The hardest part about this is feeling that I have let down my teammates, the organization, and the fans,” Gordon said in the statement, issued by the MLB Players Association.
“I have been careful to avoid products that could contain something banned by MLB, and the 20-plus tests that I have taken and passed throughout my career prove this,” he said. “I made a mistake and I accept the consequences.”
It was a typical response for an athlete getting caught for PEDs. It also has a hollow ring.
With Gordon testing positive for two banned substances, exogenous testosterone and clostebol, it is considered unlikely he took them by mistake. Will Carroll, who has reported on medical issues in sports for various media outlets, wrote that the combination of the two steroids Gordon was detected with is known as a “stack.”
“In this case, it’s not plausible,” Carroll wrote regarding Gordon’s denial, for FanDuel.com. “Gordon tested for two banned substances, including one that has never been involved in a spiked supplement. Unless Gordon can provide a supplement he took, I simply can’t believe his story.”
Gordon was suspended immediately without pay. He will be eligible to return July 29 when the Marlins play the Cardinals at Marlins Park, but he is ineligible for this year’s postseason should the Marlins qualify.
He will forfeit about $1.65 million in salary. But the cost will be much greater to his reputation and status in the game.
His accomplishments will be viewed as tainted and he will be regarded with suspicion going forward.
One of the most likeable and popular players the Marlins have had, Gordon is coming off a historic season in 2015 when he won the National League batting and stolen-base titles as well as his first Gold Glove. He also led the league with 205 hits. He signed a fiveyear, $50-million contract in the offseason.
The speedy second baseman might seem an unlikely PED offender. Slightly built, he isn’t a home run threat. His game is about getting on base and utilizing his ability to run like few in baseball can to put pressure on the opposing team.
The two-time All-Star has struggled to maintain weight over the course of a season. Coincidentally, Mattingly was asked this week about the change in Gordon since he came up with the Dodgers in 2011, and noted that he had gained strength as his body developed from 145 pounds to a more physically mature 170 at age 28.
Whether PEDs played a role in that growth will be subject to speculation.
What is clear is his absence will have a profound affect on a Marlins team that was emerging from a slow start to put together its first five-game winning streak since September. They outplayed a supposedly superior Dodgers team in every aspect while outscoring Los Angeles 16-8 in the four victories.
Gordonwas off to a modest start, batting .267 with six stolen bases. But he figured prominently in Thursday’s 5-3 win, driving in the tying run with a single and scoring on a balk that he likely influenced.
The timing of Gordon’s suspension announcement infuriated some Dodgers officials. It’s unclear exactly when Gordon tested positive, but as first-time violator hewas allowed to appeal — and to keep playing until the appeal process played out.
Gordon officially dropped that right to appeal after Thursday’s game, said Pat Courtney, baseball’s chief communications officer.
Citing the confidentiality clauses of baseball’s Joint Drug Agreement, Courtney declined to provide specifics on the case.
Most of the Marlins’ players cleared the clubhouse quickly as the team prepared to depart Los Angeles for a weekend series that began Friday in Milwaukee. The few who remained appeared downcast and spoke in hushed tones.
“I love Dee. I support him,” said third baseman Martin Prado, one of the team learders. “I really have nothing else to say. We had a great series, and we played good baseball, the whole team. We have to continue to do that.”
Without Gordon, the dynamic of the batting order changes dramatically. He is their only legitimate leadoff hitter. Christian Yelich batted first earlier in his career, but it would seem counterproductive to move him from the No. 3 spot where he has settled in and reached base in the first 21 games.
Ichiro Suzuki batted leadoff Friday night as he replaced Giancarlo Stanton in right field. Utility man Derek Dietrich was at second base, batting sixth. The Marlins called up outfielder Cole Gillespie to take Gordon’s roster spot.
“[Gordon is] an important part of the success that we’ve had,” Mattingly said. “We’ll see, and it opens the door for someone else for more at-bats and more playing time.
“As a ballclub the story is we have to move forward. That’s what happens in professional sports. Stuff happens and you move forward, and you’ve got to find a way to get around it.”
Moving Prado to second base with Dietrich or Chris Johnson at third could also be an option. Versatile infielder Miguel Rojas may also get more starts, though he is most valuable coming off the bench and filling in wherever needed.
Samson didn’t mince words as he expressed support for Gordon while also condemning his actions.
“He will be back 80 games from now, and he will be welcomed back to this organization,” Samson said. “But in the interim period, we expect him and we are positive that he will do everything that’s necessary to make it up to his fans, to his teammates and to this organization.”
That will be an imposing challenge to Gordon. Repairing the damage to his own career will bemore difficult.
Tribune newspapers reporter Andy McCullough contributed to this report.