Report: MLB Likely To Announce Suspensions For A-Rod, Others This Week
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Major League Baseball is likely to dole out its remaining Biogenesis-related suspensions this week, including a hefty one for Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, according to the New York Post.
Why the rush? The league apparently wants to give some players the option of accepting and serving a 50-game ban before the season ends, the Post reported.
Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun accepted a 65-game suspension without pay last week for his role with Biogenesis, the closed anti-aging clinic in Florida at the heart of baseball's latest performance-enhancing drugs scandal.
The league is reportedly looking at a much harsher penalty for Rodriguez, possibly even lifetime banishment.
MLB officials believe A-Rod -- who admitted to PED usage in the past but has denied the Biogenesis allegations -- lied about his ties to the clinic and its operator, Anthony Bosch, and attempted to obstruct baseball's investigation, according to multiple reports.
There's a "growing belief" that Commissioner Bud Selig would suspend Rodriguez for the remainder of this season and all of 2014, the Post reported.
The picture was much worse in a rival New York tabloid. If A-Rod rejects a deal for that exact punishment (2013-14), Selig was expected to pursue a lifetime ban, the Daily News reported.
Either way, A-Rod seems poised to battle MLB through the appeals process. A source close to the slugger told the Daily News that A-Rod would "fight" any suspension.
"There's no deal that I've instructed anyone to do at this point," Rodriguez told WFAN radio on July 17.
The league hopes to get word of A-Rod's decision "by Monday," the Daily News reported, adding that if the deal is denied his suspension "could be announced as early as late Monday or Tuesday."
However, MLB isn't expected to make an announcement on Monday, Newsday's Steven Marcus reported via Twitter.
With two bad hips, even a deal that would clear A-Rod to play in 2015 could effectively end his career.
Rodriguez still hasn't made his 2013 debut following offseason hip surgery. He turned 38 on Saturday.
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