A-Rod, other MLB players linked to recent PED purchases: Report

A report in the Miami New Times on Tuesday alleges that Alex Rodriguez purchased illegal performance-enhancing drugs from a South Florida anti-aging clinic over the prior four years.

The explosive report says that the newspaper obtained records from Biogenesis, a clinic that has closed and was owned by Anthony Bosch, the son of Florida physician Pedro Bosch who was linked to Manny Ramirez when the former Los Angeles Dodger was suspended for illegal PED usage in 2009.

According to records given to the Miami New Times, the clinic repeatedly mentions Rodriguez, as well as many other sports stars and prominent major league baseball players — including Gio Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon, reports Yahoo! Sports.com.

Rodriguez, the New York Yankees star third baseman has already admitted using illegal PEDs while he played with the Texas Rangers from 2001 through 2003, but has denied using anything since.

According to the clinic's records obtained by the newspaper, A-Rod — identified in the records as  "Alex Rodriguez," "Alex Rod," or "Cacique," the name of a pre-Columbian Caribbean chief — paid $3,500 in 2009 for what is identified as "1.5 HGH (sports perf.), creams test., glut., MIC, supplement, sports perf. Diet."

Both the HGH and testosterone cream are banned by MLB.

Another record links  "Cacique" to IGF-1 — a banned substance that stimulates insulin production and muscle growth.

Yuri Sucart — A-Rod's cousin and purported drug mule when he was in Texas — was also identified as having paid Bosch $500 for a weeklong supply of HGH in 2009.  Sucart was banned from any non-public areas involving the Yankees including the clubhouse or team buses back in 2011.

Other baseball players identified in the clinic's records include former Yankee players Cabrera and Colon — who were both suspended by the league last season — and Nationals pitcher Gonzalez and Rangers outfielder Cruz.

The Yankees will not act upon the information until Major League Baseball vets the situation, according to an industry source.  This could lead to Rodriguez being suspended if the evidence is able to be obtained and authenticated — which could take a while.

A-Rod is currently recovering from hip surgery and is not expected to be back with the team until at least the All-Star break.

MLB, DEA probe A-Rod adviser for possible PED link

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Major League Baseball are investigating a Miami-area man named Anthony Bosch — who has worked closely with Alex Rodriguez and has ties to Manny Ramirez — for Bosch's possible links to performance-enhancing drugs, reports The New York Daily News. The sources asked not to be identified because of the ongoing probe.

Bosch — a well known figure among current and former Latin ballplayers in the South Florida area — has advised the New York Yankees third baseman on nutrition, dietary supplements and training, a source with Miami-area anti-aging centers told The Daily News.

The source said Bosch — who has been affiliated with numerous Miami-area medical companies and clinics — and Rodriguez consulted with at least one other expert about blood test results.

Major League Baseball investigators are cooperating with the U.S. government and have turned over information about Bosch and his father, physician Pedro Publio Bosch to federal officials, a source told the newspaper.  Bosch and his father have already come under MLB and DEA scrutiny in 2009 for their links to then-Los Angeles Dodger Ramirez.  The Dodgers outfielder was suspended 50 games that year for using a banned substance.

Sources involved in the current probe told The News that MLB and federal investigators are trying to determine if Anthony Bosch and his father are involved in supplying banned substances to ballplayers.  The younger Bosch's relationship with major league players dates back to the 2000's when he attended parties with players and games in New York and Boston.

The 37-year-old Rodriguez is currently recovering from last week's hip surgery and the original prognosis for his return by the All-Star Game is still up in the air. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has even admitted that there is a chance that A-Rod might not play at all in 2013.

It isn't the first time Rodriguez has been associated with someone under investigation for supplying banned substances.  In 2009, he broke off his relationship with controversial Canadian doctor Anthony Galea after U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement agencies investigated the Toronto sports physician for ties to HGH and other drugs.

Galea, who said he treated A-Rod with a blood-spinning technique called platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP), was indicted for five drug-related charges.  Four of the charges were dropped after he cooperated with authorities.

MLB is concerned about a widespread ring of synthetic testosterone, HGH and other drugs to players who have sought to circumvent MLB's drug-testing program by using hard-to-detect creams and gels they rub on parts of their bodies.  Several high-profile players including former Yankees Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon failed drug tests in 2012.

HGH is popular with athletes who use steroids because it helps reestablish normal testosterone production after extensive steroid use and helps prevent testicular atrophy.

Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees and Rodriguez's lawyer, Jay Reisinger, all declined comment to The New York Daily News.