MLB Rewind: 5 Baseball stars who faced suspension for PEDs scandal featuring Alex Rodriguez

Doping in the MLB and in sports in general has been a never-ending saga. One of the most well-known cases of this is Alex Rodriguez's suspension in 2013 due to testosterone and human growth hormone. Many other stars were also handed down suspensions by the league for taking illegal substances.

Let's take a look at the most recent suspensions of MLB stars and list the most severe suspensions according to the league's doping rules.

5 MLB Stars who were suspended for doping

#5 Starling Marte (80 games)

Marte was suspended during his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates

The league handed Starling Marte a 80-game suspension in April 18, 2017 for using Nandrolone. He has since apologized for his actions and has stated that the root cause of the mistake was "lack of knowledge." The veracity of the claim is yet to be determined but it has surely tainted his career early on. Marte was one of the most touted young studs in the league before the controversy arose.

#4 Manny Ramirez (100 games)

Los Angeles Dodgers v Philadelphia Phillies, Game 1

One of the most flamboyant and beloved characters in all of baseball, Manny Ramirez had a productive, yet sometimes controversial, MLB career. The former two-time World Series champion was handed down two different sentences from the league.

Ramirez was originally suspended for 50 games during the 2009 season for testing positive for human chrionic gonadotropin. In 2011, he was again handed down a suspension, this time for 100 games, after testing for another banned substance. The punishment was reduced to 50 games after an appeal was made and an agreement between the league and the MLBPA was finalized.

#3 Miguel Tejada (105 games)

Miguel Tejada during his time with the Kansas City Royals

2002 American League MVP Miguel Tejada was suspended105 games in the 2013 MLB season, having just signed for the Kansas City Royals that year. He tested positive for amphetamines and has claimed that he was supposed to apply for an exemption because he used the substance for a medical condition. He didn't appeal to the league, however, and instead served out the sentence.

#2 Alex Rodriguez (162 games)

Alex Rodriguez is perhaps the most infamous poster child of MLB's doping scandals of this generation. He has drawn the ire of many and perhaps tainted what was supposed to be first-ballot Hall of Fame career.

Rodriguez was implicated in the 2013 Biogenesis scandal wherein players were suspected of having received performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis of America, a Florida-based health clinic. The Yankees superstar was originally handed a 211-game suspension by the league that included the entire 2014 regular season and postseason. It was then reduced to a 162-game suspension after an appeal was made by A-Rod and his camp.

#1 Robinson Cano (242 games)

After a stellar tenure with the New York Yankees, Robinson Cano's career since his time in the Bronx can be described as turbulent. He was handed two different suspensions by the league. First in 2018 during his time with the Seattle Mariners for 80 games after testing positive for Furosemide.

He was again suspended in 2020 for 162 games after being tested positive for Stanozolol meaning he would miss the entire 2021 season. He was recently designated by the Mets for assignment after three tumultuous seasons with the team.