MLB hands German outfielder Kepler 80-game doping ban

The suspension for violating MLB's joint drug prevention and treatment program means that if Kepler signs with a club for the 2026 campaign, he would not be eligible for the playoffs. Kepler signed a one-year contract last year to play for the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he batted .216 with 18 home runs and batted in 52 runs over 127 games. Kepler, the son of US and Polish ballet dancers who met at a Berlin company, spent 10 seasons with the Minnesota Twins from 2015 through 2024 after being signed out of Germany in 2009.