According to several news reports, Major League Baseball has given the players union a list of those facing suspensions because of doping.
In truth, this is another pit stop in the long march toward what is rumored to be the suspension of some of baseball's A-listers. Of course, the biggest target is rumored to be Alex Rodriguez.
CBS News reports that the Major League Baseball Players' Association told them A-Rod was among the players facing suspensions, but that he was one of a "number of players." Negotiations with the union, CBS reports, means any announcement is still "a ways off."
"However, the big fish in the investigation, Alex Rodriguez, he of the $275 million contract, has been confirmed by CBS News to be on the list of players to be suspended that was handed to the MLBPA. Statistically, 'A-Rod' is among the best the game has ever seen: The three-time MVP has hit 647 home runs (fifth on the all-time list) and his 1,950 runs batted in rank seventh in baseball history.
"But MLB is threatening to suspend him, or even ban him for life, over allegations he was involved with a now-closed Florida clinic accused of peddling performance enhancing drugs, reports CBS News correspondent Terrell Brown."
The New York Times' story on the matter today is all about the posturing on both sides. A-Rod and Major League Baseball, the paper reports, are not actively negotiating a resolution, so they've taken their respective cases to the airwaves.
A-Rod's people say he will fight any potential punishment, while MLB wants Rodriguez to the follow the footsteps of Ryan Braun.
As we reported, Braun, the National League's 2011 Most Valuable Player, admitted to wrongdoing and accepted a suspension for the rest of the 2013 season.
The New York Daily News, which has a good track record on this story, says its sources — unnamed, as you might expect — say Rodriguez and eight other players will be suspended. (That number had been previously rumored to be 20.)
The Daily News reports:
"Most of the players will be suspended for 50 games, but some — including the Yankees' embattled superstar — face stiffer penalties for lying to MLB investigators or interfering in baseball's year-long Biogenesis investigation.
"Not all of the players linked to Biogenesis in media reports face discipline, sources have told The News. Two former Yankees — Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera and Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon — will not be punished because they already have been suspended as a result of their links to Biogenesis and its owner, self-styled 'biochemist' Anthony Bosch."
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