A-Rod could be next in baseball doping scandal
(CBS News) Milwaukee Brewers' outfielder Ryan Braunwas one of at least 15 Major League Baseball players under investigation for taking performance-enhancing drugs. He was suspended Monday for the rest of the season, and an even bigger name could be next.
The game's highest-paid player, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez is also under investigation. A Major League Baseball team executive told CBS News Braun's 65-game suspension could be nothing compared to what Rodriguez faces.
The executive said it's not a matter of "if" Rodriguez will be suspended for using performance enhancing drugs, but "when."
"They have an overwhelming amount of evidence on this guy showing multiple years of usage," the executive said. "He's met with Major League Baseball. He's seen the evidence. He is staring down a penalty much, much harsher than Braun's. It could be years... or even a lifetime suspension."
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Both Braun and Rodriguez are on a list of players accused of using banned drugs from a now-closed anti-aging clinic in South Florida run by a man named Tony Bosch, who is now cooperating with baseball. T.J. Quinn first reported the doping story for ESPN in February and says Braun's choice to accept his penalty suggests the evidence Bosch is sharing is strong.
"People have a strong understanding that there is a lot of evidence out there," Quinn said. "That it comes directly from Tony Bosch and it was compelling enough to get one of the biggest names in the game to just concede that baseball had the goods on him. So if that's the case, the know something is coming with A-Rod. It's just a matter of time."
And according to the MLB executive CBS News spoke with, baseball has a lot more on Rodriguez than just drug use.
"They are looking into his use, and also whether he lied, whether he obstructed the investigation and whether he got other players involved."
An MLB announcement about Rodriguez is expected sometime in the next two weeks. CBS News contacted representatives for Alex Rodriguez and got no response, directing reporters to the player's union -- which also had no comment. But just last month, a lawyer for Rodriguez called MLB's investigation "despicable."
