It finally happened. According to a report by ESPN and Yahoo!, Major League Baseball will announce that 12 players will accept suspensions linked to Biogenesis scandal. There is one glaring admission, Alex Rodriguez.
The list of players to receive 50-game suspensions are those who agreed to not appeal their suspensions.
The list is full of players already reported to be linked to the Biogenesis scandal and a few that weren’t as prominently reported.
The list below are players who will start serving their suspensions right away.
- Nelson Cruz – Texas Rangers – 50 games (no appeal)
- Everth Cabrera – San Diego Padres – 50 games (no appeal)
- Jhonny Peralta – Detroit Tigers – 50 games (no appeal)
- Antonio Bastardo – Philadelphia Phillies – 50 games (no appeal)
- Jordany Valdespin – New York Mets – 50 games (no appeal)
- Francisco Cervelli – New York Yankees – 50 games (no appeal)
- Jesus Montero – Seattle Mariners – 50 games (no appeal)
- Cesar Puello – New York Mets – 50 games (no appeal)
- Fautino De Los Santos – San Diego Padres prospect – 50 games (no appeal)
- Sergio Escalona – Houston Astros prospect – 50 games (no appeal)
- Fernando Martinez – New York Yankees prospect – 50 games (no appeal)
- Jordan Norberto – Free Agent – 50 games (no appeal) – to be served when signed by team
Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was previously announced to be suspended for the rest of the 2013 season. He is currently serving his suspension.
Melky Cabrera (Oakland), Bartolo Colon (Oakland) and Yasmani Grandal (Padres) may not receive further punishment. They have already served 50-game suspensions late last season and early this season, possibly tied to substances from Biogenesis clinic.
The drama around Alex Rodriguez may drag on through the rest of this season, since the appeal process will take some time due to the magnitude of his case.