Alex Rodriguez has been suspended for the entire 2014 season by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who handed down a 162-game ban to the New York Yankees third baseman for his involvement in Major League Baseball's Biogenesis scandal.
The suspension also includes all potential playoff games in 2014.
Horowitz's ruling upholds a good portion of the original 211-game suspension levied by MLB, which banned Rodriguez in August after concluding its investigation. Rodriguez continued playing after appealing the decision.
Twelve other players were suspended as a result of the investigation, although none for longer than the 65 games given to Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun. The other players were suspended 50 games, the punishment for first-time drug offenders stipulated by baseball's collective bargaining agreement.
Alex Rodriguez has been suspended for the entire 2014 season for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.
A-Rod plans on attending spring training, a source close to Rodriguez tells ESPNNew York.com's Andrew Marchand. Under a loophole in his suspension, he is allowed to participate in spring training. His side's argument that if he is able to receive an injunction to stop the suspension, he will able to play and thus he should prepare for the season.
The Yankees could tell him to not come to Tampa. Last spring training, Rodriguez was not with his teammates at all as he rehabbed from his hip surgery.
While the decision is a reduction of the punishment baseball sought, it still could mean the end of Rodriguez's playing career.
He will turn 39 in July and, coming off two hip surgeries and a 2013 season in which he played just 44 games, may not be able to return after sitting out an entire season.
The suspension a the culmination of a nearly yearlong process dating to a story in the Miami New Times last January that revealed the names of Rodriguez and others in the records of Biogenesis, a now-shuttered Coral Gables anti-aging clinic suspected of being a source of performance-enhancing drugs for MLB players and other athletes.
The testimony of Anthony Bosch, the clinic's proprietor, was a key element in baseball's case against Rodriguez, as were copies of the records, which baseball paid in excess of $125,000 to obtain.
As expected, Rodriguez said he will contest Saturday's decision in federal court. His spokesman issued a statement before the decision was even officially announced, calling the suspension "inconsistent" and based on "false and wholly unreliable testimony."
"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," Rodriguez said in the statement. "This is one man's decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable.
"This injustice is MLB's first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review."
MLB defended the length of the original suspension in a news release.
"For more than five decades, the arbitration process under the Basic Agreement has been a fair and effective mechanism for resolving disputes and protecting player rights," MLB said in the statement. "While we believe the original 211-game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the Panel and will focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game."
Rodriguez reiterated his claim that he has not taken any PEDs in his time with the Yankees. The three-time American League MVP was biggest name linked last year to Biogenesis.
"I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court," Rodriguez said in his statement. "I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension.
"No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players' contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.
"I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal."
The suspension also includes all potential playoff games in 2014.
Horowitz's ruling upholds a good portion of the original 211-game suspension levied by MLB, which banned Rodriguez in August after concluding its investigation. Rodriguez continued playing after appealing the decision.
Twelve other players were suspended as a result of the investigation, although none for longer than the 65 games given to Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun. The other players were suspended 50 games, the punishment for first-time drug offenders stipulated by baseball's collective bargaining agreement.
Alex Rodriguez has been suspended for the entire 2014 season for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.
A-Rod plans on attending spring training, a source close to Rodriguez tells ESPNNew York.com's Andrew Marchand. Under a loophole in his suspension, he is allowed to participate in spring training. His side's argument that if he is able to receive an injunction to stop the suspension, he will able to play and thus he should prepare for the season.
The Yankees could tell him to not come to Tampa. Last spring training, Rodriguez was not with his teammates at all as he rehabbed from his hip surgery.
While the decision is a reduction of the punishment baseball sought, it still could mean the end of Rodriguez's playing career.
He will turn 39 in July and, coming off two hip surgeries and a 2013 season in which he played just 44 games, may not be able to return after sitting out an entire season.
The suspension a the culmination of a nearly yearlong process dating to a story in the Miami New Times last January that revealed the names of Rodriguez and others in the records of Biogenesis, a now-shuttered Coral Gables anti-aging clinic suspected of being a source of performance-enhancing drugs for MLB players and other athletes.
The testimony of Anthony Bosch, the clinic's proprietor, was a key element in baseball's case against Rodriguez, as were copies of the records, which baseball paid in excess of $125,000 to obtain.
As expected, Rodriguez said he will contest Saturday's decision in federal court. His spokesman issued a statement before the decision was even officially announced, calling the suspension "inconsistent" and based on "false and wholly unreliable testimony."
"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," Rodriguez said in the statement. "This is one man's decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable.
"This injustice is MLB's first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review."
MLB defended the length of the original suspension in a news release.
"For more than five decades, the arbitration process under the Basic Agreement has been a fair and effective mechanism for resolving disputes and protecting player rights," MLB said in the statement. "While we believe the original 211-game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the Panel and will focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game."
Rodriguez reiterated his claim that he has not taken any PEDs in his time with the Yankees. The three-time American League MVP was biggest name linked last year to Biogenesis.
"I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court," Rodriguez said in his statement. "I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension.
"No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players' contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.
"I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal."
