Report: Yankees' Alex Rodriguez plans to appeal any suspensions over alleged drug use
Alex Rodriguez plans to appeal any suspensions over alleged performance enhancing drug use. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who reports say will be hit with at least a 100-game suspension as part of Major League Baseball's Biogenesis investigation, plans to appeal any such discipline, reports USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale.
Rodriguez has been out all season following hip surgery last January, and a suspension could lengthen his time away. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman floated a 150-game suspension, and other reports agree that he will likely be hit with at least a 100-game suspension. (A report Tuesday said he could face a lifetime ban, though that seems unlikely.)
Former MVP Ryan Braun was suspended 65 games -- the rest of the season -- for violating the league's drug policy as part of the Biogenesis scandal. ESPN's T.J. Quinn reported that MLB's evidence against Rodriguez goes "far beyond" what it had against Braun.
The Miami New Times first reported that Biogenesis, a South Florida anti-aging clinic, had provided performance enhancing drugs to players. As many as 20 players could be implicated by the scandal. Except for Braun's recent admissions, all players alleged to have received PEDs have denied the charges.
VERDUCCI: Answering key questions in wake of Braun suspension
There had been reports Rodriguez was looking to make a deal, but Nightengale's latest report denies that possibility. Instead, the report says Rodriguez plans to fight the allegations.