Free agent outfielder Max Kepler has been handed an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Epitrenbolone, a banned performance-enhancing substance, as announced by Major League Baseball on Friday. Kepler participated fully in the 2025 season with the Philadelphia Phillies.

According to MLB’s Joint Drug Agreement, PED suspensions cover regular-season and postseason games “in which the Player would have been eligible to play.” Kepler is allowed to serve his suspension while being a free agent, but he won’t receive any pay if he signs during this time. Moreover, he won’t be eligible to play in the 2026 postseason.

Kepler, who will turn 33 next month, recorded a batting line of .216/.300/.391 with 18 home runs in 2025, including .216/.305/.399 against right-handers. Over the last four years, he’s been a below-average hitter by OPS+ metrics multiple times. Given his corner outfield defense, Kepler was likely facing a modest one-year deal before facing this suspension.

In his 11 MLB seasons, ten of which were spent with the Minnesota Twins, Kepler has a career line of .235/.316/.425, with a total of 179 home runs and 20.6 WAR. His standout year was 2019, where he hit 36 home runs. (lots of homer records were set that year.)

We did not include Kepler in our ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.