MLB: A-Rod suspended for 2014 season over PED links

MANILA, Philippines – There is good news and bad news for embattled Major League Baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez. The good news is that his 211-game suspension for violating the league’s joint drug agreement has been reduced. The bad news is that he still won’t get to see a single at-bat in 2014.

MLB.com is reporting that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz has notified the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association that the Yankees third baseman Rodriguez will be suspended for the entire 162 regular season games, plus the entire postseason.

Rodriguez, 38, will lose $25 million in salary in what is the longest drug-related suspension in MLB history, according to SI.com. Rodriguez’s suspension woes stem from his alleged involvement with the Miami-based anti-aging clinic Biogenesis, which is currently under investigation for providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes.

This isn’t Rodriguez’s first brush with controversy; in 2009 he admitted to using the banned substances testosterone and Primobolan from 2001-2003 as a member of the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez was not disciplined by the league, but US President Barack Obama addressed it during a news conference, saying that his admission “tarnishes an entire era.”

ESPN is reporting that Rodriguez has denied using PEDs while playing for the Yankees and that he is planning to appeal the suspension in federal court,

“The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is a 3-time American League MVP and is sixth on the all-time home runs list with 654. He has been a member of the Yankees since 2004. In 2007 Rodriguez signed the largest contract in baseball history worth $275 million over ten years. – Rappler.com