Ryan Braun returns to the Brewers’ lineup tonight after missing a month with a thumb injury and he’s back just in time for this bombshell report from ESPN.com saying that MLB plans to suspend Braun, along with Alex Rodriguez and as many as 20 other players.
According to T.J. Quinn and Mike Fish from “Outside The Lines” Braun “refused to answer questions during a recent meeting with Major League Baseball” and suspensions are expected “sometime after next week’s All-Star break.”
Quinn and Fish quote sources saying that 100-game suspensions are being considered even though that’s the standard second-time offender penalty and neither Braun nor Rodriguez have served a suspension previously. The argument being made is that lying is viewed as the second offense.
Reports of MLB wanting to suspend 20 players first surfaced via Quinn and Fish back on June 4, but have mostly been dormant since then. During that time Biogensis director Tony Bosch was expected to meet with MLB officials and reveal details, leading to the hammer that’s apparently about to drop.