TUESDAY: MLB continues to investigate ACES according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who says the league could contest the union's findings if they uncover more wrongdoing. MLB interviewed LoDuca and has been in touch with a federal investigator, though they are focusing on the Cabrera case more than the Mitchell Report. The league figures to pursue harsher penalties if it finds the Levinsons were closely tied to the scheme.
MONDAY: The Major League Baseball Players Association's investigation of ACES has cleared the sports agency — headed by brothers Sam and Seth Levinson — of any wrongdoing in the Melky Cabrera web site scandal, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.
ACES had allegedly been involved in creating fake web sites to help explain Cabrera's positive test for performance enhancing drugs. According to Passan, ACES is expected to be punished for failing to supervise Juan Nunez, the consultant responsible for creating the web sites. However, ACES has issued a statement to its clients stating that any forthcoming sanctions "will not compromise ACES' ability to represent [them] in contract negotiations."
The agency provided the MLBPA with more than 1,000 pages of emails, phone records and personnel documents, Passan writes. Other employees were interviewed, as were consultants and even co-conspirators of Nunez. All employees of the ACES agency were cleared by the investigation.
The union has also decided not to investigate ACES for allegations by the Mitchell Report and former big league catcher Paul LoDuca that tie the agency to performance enhancing drugs.
In the past month, Shane Victorino, Nyjer Morgan, Everth Cabrera and Jonny Gomes have all left the agency. Victorino reportedly informed the Levinsons of his impending departure long before Cabrera had even been suspended, however.
As MLBTR's Agency Database shows, ACES still represents big names like David Wright, Brandon Phillips, Nelson Cruz, Gio Gonzalez, Heath Bell, Dustin Pedroia and many, many more.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Hush money paid?
More like honor among thieves.
“According to Passan, ACES is expected to be punished for failing to
supervise Juan Nunez, the consultant responsible for creating the web
sites.”
So they’re being punished, but they were “cleared”? Doesn’t sound like it to me.
They were cleared to keep their “licence” or whatever they call it, to keep representing players, but will receive a “punishment”, whatever they call a punishment.
Nowadays MLB is prone to reduce the punishment of offenders, Manny got part of his suspension reduced just because he is a brat that decided to quit baseball for a whole year.
Now, the issue about the Mitchell Report i get it because to begin with, that report was bogus and full of inconsistencies, like failing to add Red Sox players that Mitchell already knew had failed anti-doping tests more than once (Manny and Ortíz were the two most prominent) while he was part of the Bosox front office (conflict of interests).
Maybe the league itself can be counted on to do a *little* more as far as investigating ACES as far as the MLBPA just turning the other cheek and white washing the entire matter.. does anyone actually think the union would have done anything anyway? ridiculous to think so if they had found anything.. Would have been the fastest paper burning in history.