Alex Rodriguez's inner circle in February obtained
and leaked documents that implicated Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun as
well as his own Yankees teammate, catcher Francisco Cervelli, in the doping
scandal that has enveloped Major League Baseball.
Braun and Cervelli's names were redacted in the
Miami New Times documents. Members of Rodriguez's camp at the time obtained unedited
versions and leaked them to Yahoo! Sports,
according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The unedited documents
also implicated Baltimore Oriole Danny Valencia, who MLB later investigated and
cleared.
On July 22, Braun accepted a 65-game suspension for
the remainder of the 2013 season for taking performance-enhancing drugs. And on
Aug. 5, Cervelli, along with 11 other players, accepted a 50-game ban. MLB has
suspended Rodriguez for 211 games. He is appealing.
All three of the unedited documents leaked to
Yahoo! Sports list Braun's name. One document shows Braun on a Bosch list along
with Rodriguez, Cervelli, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera and minor
league pitcher Cesar Carrillo, all of whom have been suspended for PEDs.
The revelation that members of Rodriguez's camp at
the time leaked documents implicating other players to the media could present
significant problems for Rodriguez's legal team as they enter the arbitration
process to appeal his suspension. Baseball officials say they levied a harsher
suspension on Rodriguez because of his continued use of PEDs over multiple
years as well as his attempt to "obstruct and frustrate" MLB's
investigation.
Rodriguez's case is set to be heard by arbitrator
Fredric Horowitz in the coming weeks. If MLB were to present evidence that
Rodriguez's camp knowingly leaked additional Bosch business records, it might
demonstrate that Rodriguez's camp had not only obtained them to keep them out
of the hands of investigators, but that he actively sought to interfere with
baseball's investigation by releasing other players' names.
Baseball's collective bargaining agreement requires
that any allegations of PED use are to first be dealt with privately before
either the Commissioner's office or the Players Association makes any names
public. The premature release of a player's name is a direct violation of the
collective bargaining agreement.
"We feel what he (MLB Commissioner Bud Selig)
did, frankly, was inappropriate and almost ridiculous," he said in an
interview earlier this month. "Look at the penalties that have been
[given] out and cases that have been decided by the commissioner's office along
with the Players Association. Nothing comes close to 211 games."
Rodriguez has denied any connection to Bosch and
his clinic, and says he was never treated by him, advised by him, and that the
Miami New Times documents implicating him are not legitimate.
