Gordon won't be around the Marlins for the next three months, as he serves his suspension, unpaid. But when he returns, his new contract will still be in place. He'll lose about half of his salary this year, or $1.65 million, and then the Marlins will be on the hook for $7.8 million in 2017, $10.8 million in 2018, $13.3 million in 2019, $13.8 million in 2020, plus a $1 million buyout on a 2021 contractual option. All guaranteed.
The Marlins have no idea whether Gordon's PED use contributed to his success in 2014, before they traded their best pitching prospect, Andrew Heaney, to get him. They have no idea whether PEDs were the backbone of his batting title last year. They have no idea what kind of player he will be for the duration of his contract.
They know only that they have to continue paying him, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and the Joint Drug Agreement between Major League Baseball and the players' association.
The union embraced drug testing and has taken it further than any other sports league. But for philosophical reasons, it has not seriously entertained the idea -- to date -- of allowing teams to void multiyear deals, like Gordon's, after a PED bust.
The practical reality is that until the players' association does this, the incentive to cheat will far outweigh the risks involved in being caught. Whatever the intent, whatever the justification, PED crime in baseball pays well.
