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I awoke to some truly shocking news this morning. Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon was suspended for 80 games for taking PEDs. Here are the details from Joe Frisaro at MLB.com:
Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, the reigning National League batting champion and a two-time All-Star, has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 80 games without pay for violating the league's drug policy.
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball levied the suspension after Gordon tested positive for exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol, performance-enhancing substances, in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. It is effective immediately. Gordon would be eligible to return on July 29 when the Marlins play host to the Cardinals.
This obviously stinks for Gordon owners, as he was more than likely drafted in the first three rounds of most drafts this season. The Marlins will have to make due without Gordon till the end of July now. To replace Gordon, the Marlins will use a combination of Miguel Rojas and Derek Dietrich at second base, or could use Martin Prado there as well. The Marlins farm system is not stocked with major league ready prospects, so these are their alternatives as I see them now.
If you are looking to replace Gordon in your mixed leagues, you can go out and grab guys like Brett Lawrie, available in 30% of leagues, Joe Panik (23%), Cesar Hernandez (91%), among others. It is pretty obvious that there is no way to replace his speed unless you can make a trade for a Ben Revere or Jose Altuve, but there are guys sitting in the minors, Jose Peraza, who could get a call up in the near future. Mallex Smith may be available in your leagues as well.
I recently traded Stephen Strasburg for Gordon in an NL only redraft league, so my choices to replace him are limited. Looking on the bright side of this news, Gordon will be back for the last two months of the season, and we could see him steal 15-20 bases, or more, once he returns. He stolen 24 bases in the last two months of the 2015 season, although he hit .322 and .352 in August and September.