Alex Rodriguez ratted out fellow PED users like Manny Ramirez to federal agents

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1970-01-01 08:00

Drug Enforcement Administration documents obtained by ESPN unveiled that Alex Rodriguez told agents and attorneys that three All-Star players were PED clients of Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch.

Back in 2013, then-New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was reported to have received human growth hormones (HGH) from Biogenesis of America. MLB's independent arbitrator had investigated, and Rodriguez was suspended for 211 games. That suspension was later reduced to 162 games on Jan. 11, 2014, running for the entirety of the 2014 season.

According to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) documents acquired by ESPN, via Mike Fish, Rodriguez revealed to two United States Department of Justice attorneys and seven DEA agents in a meeting on Jan. 29, 2014, that Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch told him that he had three other performance-enhancing drug (PED) clients -- Manny Ramirez, Ryan Braun, and an unnamed "All-Star player."

Alex Rodriguez ratted out Manny Ramirez, Ryan Braun as PED users

Regarding the unnamed "All-Star player," Fish writes that they were never on federal investigators' radar, were not interviewed by agents, never tested positive for PED use, and never suspended by MLB.

Ramirez had been suspended for 50 games by MLB for PED use back in 2009. He earned a 100-game suspension for violating the same policy but chose to retire instead of serving it. Braun, meanwhile, was suspended for the final 65 games of the 2013 season after being implicated in the Biogenesis scandal.

Rodriguez told federal agents that he had paid Bosch $12,000 a month for "doping protocols fueled by testosterone creams, red, gummy-like lozenges containing testosterone and human growth hormone between late in the 2010 season through October 2012." Rodriguez also told them that his cousin Yuri Sucart Sr. "had been the source PEDs dating back at least a decade."

Additionally, Rodriguez said he made cash-only payments to hide his involvement with Bosch, and even used "petty cash" acquired from the Yankees' secretary, who "was unaware how the money drawn against A-Rod's paycheck was being used."

Staying on the Yankees topic, the documents also revealed that Rodriguez had lied to Yankees president Randy Levine, saying he had "no relationship with Bosch" when asked about his involvement back in November 2012, before the Biogenesis scandal broke.

There is a lot more to unpack. You can read much more about the documents acquired by ESPN at this link.