Alex Rodriguez’s appeal hearing with Major League Baseball is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 30, the day after the completion of baseball’s regular season, a source confirmed on Friday.
If the Yankees qualify for the playoffs, then the hearing — set to take place in Manhattan — would be postponed until a later date. Baseball arranges for its procedures to be timed so accused players don’t miss any game action.
On Aug. 5, MLB suspended Rodriguez for 211 games, charging the third baseman with multiple offenses of using and possessing illegal performance-enhancing drugs as well as obstructing MLB’s investigation into the events surrounding Biogenesis, the now-shuttered anti-aging clinic in South Florida. As per baseball’s Joint Drug Agreement, if the player appeals, then MLB must prove its case in front of an independent arbitrator, which in this instance will be Fredric Horowitz.
Newsday first reported the hearing’s tentative date. The hearing could take place at MLB’s Manhattan headquarters.
Major League Baseball officials didn’t comment. Said Ron Berkowitz, a spokesman for Rodriguez: “We’re not going to comment on anything not baseball related. It’s sad that people continue to leak information when the focus should be on the Yankees.”
It’s not clear how long the hearing will take, but the Rodriguez suspension has become one of the more involved and cumbersome cases in the history of sports discipline. Rodriguez has hired multiple high-profile attorneys, including David Cornwell, who helped Brewers slugger Ryan Braun win an appeal of a positive drug test in 2012. MLB officials believe they have compiled sufficient evidence, including text messages between Rodriguez and Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch, to support their case.
Horowitz can affirm MLB’s suspension, he can wipe it out altogether or he can decrease the penalty’s length without eliminating it. The JDA asserts the arbitrator should “make all reasonable efforts” to issue a ruling within 25 days of the hearing’s opening. The Yankees would like to know of Horowitz’s decision as soon as possible because any money Rodriguez loses through a suspension wouldn’t be applied toward the Yankees’ payroll, and the team wants to get below the $189 million luxury-tax threshold next year.