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BREAKING NEWS: Ryan Braun's name listed in Biogenesis clinic records
Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun's name is in records of the Miami-area clinic alleged to have distributed performance-enhancing drugs to a rash of baseball players, and Major League Baseball will investigate the link to the former MVP who tested positive for illegal synthetic testosterone during the 2011 postseason.
Three of the Biogenesis clinic records obtained by Yahoo! Sports show Braun's name. Unlike the players named by the Miami New Times in its report that blew open the Biogenesis case, Braun's name is not listed next to any specific PEDs.
MLB is investigating the Biogenesis clinic and its operator, Anthony Bosch, to determine the breadth of Bosch's alleged PED dispersal throughout the sport. The league could pursue punishment through non-analytical positives – evidentiary links to players without positive tests – and one source said it will not limit the potential discipline to those whose names are surfacing for the first time, meaning those who have faced suspensions in the past could again be tried.
Braun is on a list that includes Alex Rodriguez,Melky Cabrera and Cesar Carrillo, who the New Times reported received PEDs from Bosch. Also on the list are New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Danny Valencia, who weren't listed near PEDs either. The record matches a document the New Times posted with Braun's name redacted and Cervelli and Valencia's cut off.
Representatives for Braun, Cervelli and Valencia did not return multiple phone messages left by Yahoo! Sports.
[Related: MLB to interview players implicated in Miami PED scandal]
At least two other documents in the trove given to the New Times by a former Biogenesis employee mention Braun. In one, his name is on a line, with "RB 20-30K" on the next. Bosch listed the amount of money owed by other players in similar notation, though the numbers were usually lower.
Later in the document are multiple mentions of Chris Lyons, one of Braun's attorneys during the 2011-12 offseason when he fought a positive drug test. While Braun never contested the findings of the test, which found elevated testosterone levels in his urine, a 50-game suspension was overturned after chain-of-custody issues arose from the test-taker keeping the specimen in his basement over the weekend instead of immediately shipping it to a testing lab. Braun denied use of testosterone publicly.
When reached by Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday evening, Lyons declined comment.
The early portion of MLB's investigation has focused on the web of connections to the University of Miami, where Braun attended college. Carrillo, a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers organization, was Braun's road roommate for three years. Jimmy Goins, a strength-and-conditioning coach at the school and alleged client of Bosch's, worked with Braun during his three years at Miami. Goins has denied a connection to Bosch.
At least two others implicated by the New Times – Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez and San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal – have worked with Goins. Grandal, Cabrera and Bartolo Colon, all listed in Bosch's records, were suspended by MLB after testing positive for testosterone this season. MLB is considering pursuing further discipline against them, particularly if the league can acquire records that tie players to PEDs on different dates than their positive tests.
Two league officials met with New Times editors in Miami on Monday hopeful the newspaper would turn over the documents, which would aid an investigation and potential arbitration hearings if the league were to pursue suspensions. While the newspaper did not give the records to MLB, it is still considering doing so, according to two sources.
The third record is a letter from Bosch that appears to be to Juan Nunez, a former runner for the ACES sports agency that represents Cabrera, Cruz and Gonzalez. Though undated, it congratulates "Juan" on "the MVP award" – a possible reference to Cabrera's All-Star Game MVP – and continues: "This smells like the 'Braun' advantage."
Braun's name does not appear in the document on the New Times' website.
The players as well as Bosch issued blanket denials in the aftermath of the New Times report. Rodriguez said in a statement he was never treated by Bosch and "(t)he purported documents referenced in the story – at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez – are not legitimate." Rodriguez also denied an ESPN.com report that Bosch had personally injected him.
In a statement, Gonzalez said: "I've never met or spoken with Tony Bosch or used any substances provided by him." Attorneys representing Cruz said: "To the extent these allegations and inferences refer to Nelson, they are denied."
Bosch's attorney said the New Times story was "filled with inaccuracies, innuendo and misstatements of fact."
Braun has eight years and more than $130 million remaining on his current contract. He finished second in NL MVP voting last season after hitting a league-leading 41 home runs.
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Originally Posted by Bcatswin
