The 80-game suspension of Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, for the use of exogenous testosterone and clostebol, is one of the most surprising and high-profile PED punishments in baseball since Alex Rodriguez was suspended for a full season.

For the baseball world, it’s disappointing to see one of the game’s young and emerging stars test positive for a performance-enhancing drug; for the Marlins, the suspension of Gordon may be enough to kill their season.

The Marlins entered the 2016 season with high hopes but little margin for error, as they try to catch up with the New York Mets and Washington Nationals atop the NL East. Despite Miami’s recent sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Marlins are under .500 and already playing catch-up. Needless to stay, the Marlins are not at a point in the season where they can afford to lose one of their best players.

After winning the batting title last year, Gordon was expected to be the catalyst at the top of Miami’s lineup, and the Marlins were counting on him to be a big part of their team. Despite a slow start to the season, hitting .266/.289/.340 in 21 games, Gordon remained a key to Miami’s success this season. If the Marlins were going to build off their sweep of the Dodgers and continue to turn things around, Gordon would have been a big part in putting a subpar April behind them.

The Marlins have little middle infield depth and will likely be forced to go with Miguel Rojas, a largely unproven player, as their everyday second baseman. That is unless Martin Prado can make the move to second base, subsequently opening a hole in Miami’s infield at third base. More importantly, the Marlins will have difficulty getting their offense going on a consistent basis without Gordon in the leadoff spot, as their is no obvious replacement to fill that void.

If the Marlins were going to compete in 2016, knowing they don’t have a pitching staff that can match up with what the Mets and Nationals have, they would need all of their top offensive players performing at a high level. Thus far, both Marcell Ozuna and Adeiny Hechavarria have had terrible starts to the season, contributing to the team’s poor start. Gordon being suspended for half the season on top of that is something the Marlins won’t be able to overcome.