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It's a 211-game ban.
Rodriguez was connected to Biogenesis, a Miami-based anti-aging clinic that allegedly distributed performance-enhancing drugs.
MLB says he took tesosterone and human growth hormane "over the course of multiple years."
He will be allowed to play during an appeal of the decision, if he chooses to do so. He could be in the lineup tonight against the White Sox.
MLB was believed to be prepared to ban A-Rod for life under a provision in the collective-bargaining agreement that gives commissioner Bud Selig broad powers to punish players for conduct detrimental to the best interest of the game.
But the league could have faced an ugly, expensive legal battle in federal court if they took that harsh measure.
Now any appeal will go through MLB's internal arbitration process, not a court of law.
Twelve other alleged Biogenesis clients were suspended today, but they all agreed to 50-game bans without appealing.
He's already an outcast in New York, we can't imagine what the reception will be like in Chicago tonight:
Good morning, Alex Rodriguez. From your friends at @nypost: pic.twitter.com/23AOAGC6eh
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) August 5, 2013
More coming...