If Major League Baseball has its way, Alex Rodriguez won’t play again until the 2015 season.
Sources tell NBCSports.com that MLB plans to suspend Rodriguez for the remainder of the 2013 season and the entire 2014 campaign.
That’s better than the lifetime suspension that MLB was originally shooting for with its evidence that Rodriguez has used PEDs since the 2009 season. It’d also have a better chance of holding up in arbitration than the lifetime ban. Still, with Rodriguez prepared to fight, the league could have its hands full in a court case. Its top source for information, Biogenesis owner Anthony Bosch, is a liar and is the subject of a federal investigation, and a Rodriguez lawsuit could require the league to release information it’d much rather keep private.
Hopeful of returning to the Yankees lineup this week, Rodriguez, who had offseason hip surgery, homered Friday in a rehab game for Double-A Trenton and walked four times Saturday. He told reporters after Saturday’s game that he plans to be with the Yankees when they play in Chicago on Monday.
“We’re going to have a workout (Sunday) and then fly to Chicago,” Rodriguez said, per the Associated Press. “I’ve been on the field for the last five and a half hours. I haven’t heard anything or seen anything.”
MLB, though, plans to announce its suspension of Rodriguez on Monday and prevent him from playing during the appeal process by using the in-the-best-interests-of-baseball clause that commissioner Bud Selig holds.
The league is also expected to announce several other suspensions Monday, with Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta and Padres shortstop Everth Cabera likely facing bans of at least 50 games.
