PHOENIX (AP) — Outfielder Max Kepler, still serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, agreed Sunday to a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for a prorated share of the $780,000 minimum and the chance to earn $500,000 in roster bonuses.
Kepler can start a minor league assignment Wednesday, when the suspension is scheduled to have 15 days remaining. If no Arizona games are postponed, he would be eligible
to play for the Diamondbacks on June 25 at St. Louis.
If Kepler returns to the major league roster on June 25, he would receive $396,257 in salary for the remainder of the season. He would earn a $100,000 bonus for 35 days on the active roster and $200,000 each for 55 and 75.
Kepler remains on the restricted list for the remainder of the suspension and will not occupy a spot on the 40-man roster during the ban.
He is ineligible to appear in the postseason this year.
Kepler was suspended in January for a positive test for Epitrenbolone, a metabolite of Trenbolone that's contained in some products used in body-building stores and has been used in products to promote cattle growth. Kepler was the first player suspended by MLB for the substance since public announcements of the penalty details began in 2005.
The 33-year-old hit .216 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs with Philadelphia 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 during an 11-year big league career.
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This story has been corrected to show that Kepler is eligible to play on June 25, not report to the team then, and that he was suspended in January, not tested positive then.
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