When Major League Baseball announced that Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano would be suspended 80 games for violating the league's joint drug prevention and treatment program on Tuesday, the news caught many by surprise, including Miguel Cabrera, who did not agree with the suspension.
"He play every day," the Detroit Tigers star told George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press. "He do everything right. Now everybody is going to write all this stupid (crap)."
"I know Cano for a lot of years and I know he didn’t cheat," Cabrera added. "I’m (expletive) mad right now."
Cano was suspended after testing positive for Furosemide, a diuretic that can be used as a masking agent for performance-enhancing drugs and is on the league's banned substance list. After testing positive, he released a statement admitting to taking it, while saying it was prescribed by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic for a medical ailment.
Related: Mariners' Cano suspended 80 games; admits taking prescribed diuretic
"His doctor prescribed the medication. I think he got all the paperwork. Why he get positive? I don’t understand that. If it’s something for him to get better," Cabrera added.
Cabrera was then asked if he's ever concerned about taking medication in the offseason.
"No, because I live in Miami. If I lived in Venezuela (Cabrera's home country), I might test positive, too. If I need some medicine, I gotta take (it)," he said. "If I gotta take something to get better if I’m sick, I’m going to take it. I’m going to do the same thing Cano do because I need it. If I’m in Venezuela, not here in the United States."
Cano, who will reportedly undergo surgery on his fractured right hand on Wednesday, is eligible to return from his suspension on Aug. 14, but won't be permitted to participate in the postseason should the Mariners qualify.