Free agent outfielder Max Kepler was suspended for 80 games on Friday following a positive test for a banned performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s drug program.

Kepler tested positive for Epitrenbolone, a substance that led to a suspension in 2018 for boxer Manuel Charr and caused the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to announce the following year it had disqualified 90-year-old cyclist Carl Grove from a world record he had set at the 2018 Masters Track National Championship.

Epitrenbolone is a metabolite of Trenbolone, which is contained in some products used in body-building stores and had been used in products to promote cattle growth.

Kepler, who turns 33 next month, is an 11-year major league veteran who spent last season with the Philadelphia Phillies after playing his first 10 seasons with the Minnesota Twins.

Even if Kepler doesn’t have a contract by opening day in March, MLB and the union usually allow a suspended free agent to serve his penalty as long as he is attempting to reach a deal with teams.

Kepler hit .216 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs last year after agreeing to a $10 million, one-year contract. He was slowed in 2024 by left patellar tendinitis and had core surgery after the season to repair a sports hernia.

Kepler grew up in Germany and signed with the Twins at age 16 in 2009. He has a .235 average with 179 homers and 560 RBIs in 1,199 career games.

DODGERS ADD DEPTH

The Dodgers added infield depth with a pair of moves.

Minor-league journeyman Ryan Fitzgerald was claimed on waivers from the Minnesota Twins in one move. And veteran utilityman Andy Ibañez was signed to a one-year contract after becoming a free agent in November when the Detroit Tigers did not tender him a contract.

The additions give the Dodgers some added options behind second baseman Tommy Edman, who underwent ankle surgery following the 2025 season and third baseman Max Muncy, who has not played more than 100 games in either of the past two seasons due to injuries.

The two additions would also seem to impact Alex Freeland’s prospects for carving out a major-league role in 2026.

Fitzgerald, 31, made his major-league debut last season with the Twins after nearly 700 games in the minors with three organizations (the Twins, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals) as well as independent leagues. Primarily a shortstop in the minor leagues, Fitzgerald has played all four infield positions. He hit .196 in 24 games with the Twins last season.

Ibañez, meanwhile, spent parts of the past five seasons in the major leagues with the Tigers and Texas Rangers. He has a career average of .254 with a .694 OPS.

The 32-year-old Ibañez has played primarily second and third base but has also played in the outfield at the major-league level.

The Dodgers will have several options to sort through at second base this spring — Edman, Hyeseong Kim, Miguel Rojas, Fitzgerald, Freeland and Ibañez.

— Bill Plunkett

TIGERS, SKUBAL COULD FACE arbitration SHOWDOWN

There’s a wide gulf between what the Detroit Tigers are offering ace starter Tarik Skubal and what the two-time Cy Young winner is seeking in arbitration.

The Tigers and Skubal failed Thursday to reach a deal on a salary for 2026, his final year of team control before reaching free agency.

The Tigers submitted an offer of $19 million, while Skubal countered with a reported offer of $32 million.

The Tigers’ offer is the largest ever extended by a team to a pitcher in his third year of arbitration. Skubal’s request would be the largest for any player in salary arbitration history. The $13 million gap between the two figures is also the largest ever.

Players eligible for arbitration generally have between three and six years of major league service time. They are not free agents and remain under team control, but they can leverage the arbitration process to negotiate higher salaries. Most players with fewer than three years of service time earn the league minimum, which is $780,000 in 2026.

Slugger Juan Soto earned a record $31 million in his final year of arbitration, a figure Skubal is seeking to surpass.

The largest arbitration salary ever earned by a pitcher belongs to David Price, who agreed to a $19.75 million deal with the Tigers in 2015 during his fourth year of arbitration.

The Tigers, like most teams, are ostensibly a “trial-and-file” club. If they adhere to that approach, there would be no further negotiations, and both sides would prepare to defend their figures before an arbitrator, who must choose one salary or the other.

There is no prohibition against reaching a deal at any point before the hearing, however, and given the size of the gap between the two sides, further discussions would not be surprising.

Skubal, 29, went 13-6 with an AL-best 2.21 ERA in 2025, striking out a career-high 241 batters in 195 1/3 innings. He then added three dominant playoff starts in October.

As he’s entering his final year of team control, the unlikelihood of him signing an extension with the Tigers before reaching free agency has invited trade speculation.