Major League Baseball started to discipline players for using performance-enhancing Drugs in 2005. Even though infamous PED users such as Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and others were no longer playing, their use of unnatural substances to enhance their performance on the field was the catalyst for Professional Baseball to modernize their drug policies.

The types of substances on the MLB PED List includes stimulants, steroids, human growth hormone, diuretics, and masking agents. More than 100 Major League and Minor League players have received suspensions because they tested positive for PEDs.

Did you know that eight Philadelphia Phillies Major League players, along with several Phillies Minor Leaguers, have been suspended for testing positive for PEDs between 2008-2025? That list of names includes:

*J. C. Romero (2009)
*Freddy Galvis 2012)
*Carlos Ruiz (2012)
*Marlon Byrd (2012, 2016)
*Antonio Bastardo (2013)
*Daniel Stumpf (2016)
*Alec Asher (2016)
*José Alvarado (2025)

We have another former Phillies Player to add to that list of PED Users

On Friday, Major League Baseball announced they are suspending Veteran Outfielder Max Kepler for 80-games after he tested positive for Epitrenbolone. The soon-to-be 33-year-old Outfielder is still a Free Agent, which means his suspension becomes active when he signs with a new team, and he will be ineligible for the upcoming postseason.

Epitrenbolone is a metabolite of a potent and synthetic anabolic steroid called Trenbolone. This controversial synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid was originally created for veterinary use, but became a trendy performance-enhancing drug over the last decade thanks to Fitness Influences on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Trenbolone is illegal to possess or sell in the United States and Australia without a valid medical prescription or required medical licenses. It is also illegal to sell or distribute “Tren” in the United Kingdom, and Canada.

In Kepler’s home country, Germany, it is illegal to possess as well.  So there is a possibility that this suspension by MLB could lead to an investigation about where and how Kepler obtained this illegal steroid.

Max Kepler hit 18 Home Runs along with 52 RBI in 127 games played for the Phillies in the 2025 season. Philadelphia made the decision not to re-sign him months ago because the organization wants to make room on the Major League Roster for their top Outfield Prospect, Justin Crawford, to join the team this upcoming season.

Top Selling Philadelphia Phillies Uniforms In 2025The Philadelphia Phillies only had two players selected to the 2025 MLB All-Star game but the fans support the players, giving the Phillies one of the best home attendence averages in Baseball. We wanted to know what the best-selling Phillies Jerseys this season. We gathered data from the MLB Shop and combined it with Google Analytics to find out which Phillies Players’ Jerseys are the most popular

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