At least twenty ball players over the next coming weeks and months will not be resting easy. Bud Selig and company are preparing to suspend an unparalleled amount of players believed to be linked to performance enhancing drugs from Tony Bosch’s Biogenesis of America in Miami.
Sources recently told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that Bosch will cooperate with Major League Baseball by providing a testimony to support the records found earlier this year. Bosch’s decision to come forth and assist resulted from an alleged agreement between the two to limit his own personal damage and any lawsuits resulting from the case.
The League anticipates meeting with Bosch this week, where he is expected to supply a list of names. If all goes according to MLB’s plan, suspensions could be declared in as quickly as two weeks.
If the evidence holds up barring Bosch’s testimony, this would be the largest PED scandal in all of sports to date. The commissioner is calling for 50 games for the offense and 50 more for lying to the League after the fact.
The most notable players in the crossfire include New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun, both former MVPs in their respective leagues. If suspensions hold up, it would be the first time MVPs have ever been suspended for banned substances.
Braun failed a test in 2011 but had successfully appealed it. He argues that the only reason his name is on record with the Miami clinic was because of the consultation between Bosch and his legal team during his appeal case. Milwaukee has him locked in at $133 million through 2020.
Rodriguez’s alleged involvement with Biogenesis seems to be a bit more direct. Bosch’s statements will either confirm or deny reports that A-Rod received visits at his own home from Bosch specifically for PED injections. Currently, he’s on contract with New York for $105 million through 2017.
Other high-profile players include but are not limited to Blue Jays’ Melky Cabrera, Rangers’ Nelson Cruz, Tigers’ Jhonny Peralta, Padres’ Everth Cabrera, and Athetics’ Bartolo Colon.
As per usual, players can either argue the case in an arbitration hearing where they’ll personally face Bosch, or they can choose to accept it. Either way, the stakes are high.
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