Report: NL MVP Ryan Braun Tests Positive For PEDs

Per ESPN.com's Mark Fainaru-Wadea and T.J. Quinn (special hat tip to Jay Jaffe, who was the first to bring the developing story to my attention on Twitter):

National League MVP Ryan Braun, who last season led the Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title in nearly three decades, has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and faces a 50-game suspension if the initial finding is upheld, two sources familiar with the case told "Outside the Lines."

Major League Baseball has not announced the positive test because Braun is disputing the result through arbitration.

A spokesman for Braun issued a statement Saturday: "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated."

The 28-year-old Braun had to provide a urine sample for testing during the playoffs, and he was notified of the positive test sometime in late October -- about a month before he was named the National League's most valuable player.

According to the report, Braun's positive result was triggered by elevated levels of testosterone in his system, with a subsequent, more comprehensive test revealing that the testosterone was synthetic and not produced by Braun's body. Baseball then asked the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal to perform a secondary test to validate its results and rule out the possibility of the testosterone spike resulting from natural variations in Braun's body. That test corroborated baseball's previous findings -- that is, that the testosterone was artifically introduced to Braun's body.

Let the chaos begin.