Report: MLB Could Ban Alex Rodriguez For Life
Rumors about the penalty A-Rod will receive range from a 50-game suspension to a lifetime ban.
Jim Axelrod of CBS News reported last night that a ban for life was a possibility.
Under the MLB's drug policy, the only violation that explicitly triggers a lifetime ban is a third positive test for PEDs. While A-Rod admitted to using steroids between 2001 and 2003, he has never been suspended for a positive test. It's unclear if MLB has the authority to kick him out of the game forever, and the evidence against him would have to be exceptionally damning for use such an extreme measure.
At the very least, A-Rod would appeal the penalty and enter into a long arbitration process that MLB doesn't necessary want to get into.
Other predictions for what will happen to him fall in to the 50-to-150 game range.
CBS's Jon Heyman says the ban will be at least 50 games, and will come in the next two or three weeks.
The New York Daily News says that 150 games "might be the best he could expect," and that he's trying to work out a plea deal with the league to reduce the suspension.
A-Rod was just given a minor league rehab assignment as he continues to recover from a hip injury. As the days go by, it's getting more and more likely that he won't step on the field for the Yankees this year.