Robinson Cano has been suspended 80 games without pay by Major League Baseball after he tested positive for a banned substance.

Cano tested positive for the diuretic furosemide, which violates MLB's drug prevention and treatment program.

"Recently I learned that I tested positive for a substance called Furosemide, which is not a performance enhancing substance," Cano said in a statement. "... For more than 15 years, playing professional baseball has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. I would never do anything to cheat the rules of the game that I love, and after undergoing dozens of drug tests over more than a decade, I have never tested positive for a performance enhancing substance for the simple reason that I have never taken one."

Under MLB's drug policy, a player is not automatically suspended for use of a diuretic unless MLB can prove he intended to use it as a masking agent.

Cano tested positive before the season and appealed, according to a source. During the appeal, MLB apparently was able to determine his intent, which resulted in Cano dropping his appeal, the source said.