Alex Rodriguez’s legal team filed a complaint Sunday alleging Major League Baseball leaked false information about the Yankees’ beleaguered third baseman, a source confirmed.
The complaint, sent to independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz — who is overseeing the appeal of Rodriguez’s 211-game suspension by MLB — concerns a New York Times report Sunday that Rodriguez failed a test for a banned stimulant in 2006. Rodriguez would not have faced disciplined for such an offense because a player must test positive for stimulants twice before his name becomes public.
“Alex Rodriguez was never suspended for use of stimulants or any violation of the MLB drug program,” Jim McCarroll, one of Rodriguez’s attorneys, said in a statement. “The fact that MLB has resorted to leaking federally protected medical information about a player speaks volumes of the weakness of their case against Alex — and their desperation to secure a win in the arbitration, at all costs.
“Alex has abided by the confidentiality rules of the arbitration process. MLB has not. In response to MLB’s incessant leaks, Alex recently has even gone so far as to offer that the proceeding be opened to the media, so as to even the playing field — an offer which MLB promptly rejected, as they prefer to continue their one-sided flow of leaks, rather than having the weakness of their case exposed publicly by full and fair coverage. Every new step MLB takes wreaks (sic) of desperation, in its obsessive effort to bring Alex down.”
In response to the complaint, MLB issued a statement that read: “We honor our joint drug program and never publicly disclose player test results until it’s publicly announced.”
Rodriguez’s suspension is for allegedly using multiple illegal PEDs on multiple occasions as well as obstructing the MLB investigation into Biogenesis, the shuttered South Florida anti-aging clinic whose owner Anthony Bosch has become MLB’s star witness in the A-Rod case.
The arbitration panel — featuring Horowitz, MLB COO Rob Manfred and Players Association general counsel David Prouty — has heard eight days of testimony so far. The hearing will resume Nov. 18 at MLB’s Park Avenue headquarters.