Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is prepared to levy a lifetime ban against the New York third baseman, and suspend eight other players for 50 games before this weekend for their connection to a Florida drug clinic, USA Today reported on Wednesday.
As many as 20 other players were originally linked to Biogenesis, a Miami anti-aging clinic that allegedly distributed banned performance-enhancing drugs. Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was suspended last week without pay for 65 weeks for his connection to the clinic.
Rodriguez, baseball's highest-paid player with a $275 million contract, plans to fight any suspension or banishment that the league may hand down through the appeals process, his attorney said Monday.
If Selig decides to issue a permanent ban it could be shortened by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz to about 200 games, the Associated Press reported.