MLB still reeling after surprising Gordon suspension
The suspension of Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon for 80 games after he tested positive for performance-enhancing substances shocked the baseball world early Friday.
Despite Gordon accepting the suspension and denying he took PEDs knowingly, the baseball world is still trying to put together the whole story after the news spiraled throughout the game Thursday night.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, whose club was swept by Gordon's Marlins on Thursday, discussed his take with MLB Network Radio.
"He's a great young man ... We were shocked," Roberts said Friday. "We were as shocked as everybody and there's guys in this clubhouse, staff guys who had when he was here and to learn this news after the series was a state of shock for everybody."
The suspension of Gordon, a former Dodger, who was drafted by the club in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, joins a growing list of players being suspended for performance enhancing drugs, including Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello and New York Mets right-hander Jenrry Mejia.
Roberts wasn't the only major-league manager affected by Gordon's suspension, as Milwaukee Brewers skipper Craig Counsell had some feelings as his team prepared to play the Marlins on Friday.
Counsell on Gordon:1st reaction was sadness, guys will look for an edge, as much as we don't like it, it's going to happen #Marlins #Brewers
— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) April 29, 2016
To fill Gordon's spot on the roster, the Marlins called up 31-year-old outfielder Cole Gillespie, giving the team five outfielders to choose from.
Utility player Derek Dietrich will likely replace Gordon at second base, and is starting for the Marlins against the Brewers Friday.