Alex Rodriguez

WEDNESDAY: Rodriguez has officially filed his appeal of the suspension, tweets David Waldstein of the New York Times. The MLBPA has confirmed the appeal, tweets David Lennon of Newsday.

MONDAY: Major League Baseball has announced that Alex Rodriguez has officially been suspended for 211 games. That punishment would take effect on Thursday, August 8. However, unlike the other 12 players who were issued suspensions today, Rodriguez will appeal his suspension and therefore be allowed to play until that appeal has been heard. MLB issued the following statement regarding his suspension:

Rodriguez's discipline under the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program is based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years. Rodriguez's discipline under the Basic Agreement is for attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner's investigation.

Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Michael Weiner issued his own statement regarding Rodriguez's situation:

We agree with [Rodriguez's] decision to fight the suspension. We believe that the Commissioner has not acted appropriately under the Basic Agreement. Mr. Rodriguez knows that the Union, consistent with its history, will defend his rights vigorously. The Union’s members have made it clear that they want a clean game. They support efforts to discipline players, and harshly, to help ensure an even playing field for all. The players support the Union’s efforts to uphold the JDA while at the same time guaranteeing that players receive the due process rights and confidentiality protections granted under the agreement.

Rodriguez's suspension is far and away the largest of anyone connected to the Biogenesis investigation — coming in at 146 games longer than 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun. Rodriguez stands to lose the entirety of his $25MM salary in 2014 and would lose an additional $7.96MM if he were to drop his appeal prior to Thursday.

Alex Rodriguez will be suspended through at least the 2014 season in an announcement Monday by Major League Baseball, but the Yankees third baseman plans to file an appeal, which will enable him to play tomorrow night against the White Sox in Chicago, two people with direct knowledge of the plan told Bob Nightengale of the USA Today. The appeal would be heard by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz in the next three weeks, according to Nightengale. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post tweets the announcement of the Biogenesis suspensions will take place around 11am CT.

Davidoff also reports MLB is leaning towards only suspending Rodriguez for violating the Joint Drug Agreement, and not the Basic Agreement, allowing for an appeal. A person close to the situation told Davidoff that Commissioner Bud Selig does not want give Rodriguez the sympathy points which would come with suspending him via the "best interests of baseball" clause of the Basic Agreement. Joel Sherman, Davidoff's colleague at the Post, added Selig does not want a court fight with the union, wants to avoid the perception of not allowing Rodriguez due process, and wants to avoid outside noise so people can concentrate on what MLB says is the heart of its case: A-Rod used PEDs for years, lied to MLB serially, and tried in myriad ways to thwart the investigation (all Twitter links). ESPN's Buster Olney tweets this strategy gives Selig the high ground to go to the union and ask for tougher rules. 

Rodriguez is one of about ten Major League players to be suspended tomorrow, but he is the only one who will be banned beyond this season, writes Nightengale. MLB officials have informed Rodriguez's attorneys and the MLBPA of the decision to suspend the players, and told Rodriguez he is no longer able to discuss a settlement, reports Nightengale, who attributes two people unauthorized to speak publicly before the scheduled announcement. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted he was told by a person updated on the Biogenesis inquiry that Rodriguez and MLB never were close to a settlement. 

"I'll have an opportunity, when the time is right, to tell my full story," Rodriguez told reporters, including Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press (via Philly.com), last night after a four-walk performance for Double-A Trenton. "I'm excited to play Monday. I can't wait to see my teammates. I feel like I can help them win."

Manager Joe Girardi says Rodriguez, if he is in Chicago, will be in the lineup at third base tomorrow night, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.

"I think all of us are curious what's going to happen, and is Alex going to be a player for us tomorrow, and what's going to happen with the other guys that are involved in this. Because in my mind I have him penciled in here tomorrow," Girardi said (as quoted by Nightengale). "I don't suspect it'll be awkward. Most of the guys know him as a teammate and have laughed a lot with Alex and been around Alex a lot. I think it'll be business as usual. I'm sure there will be more media there obviously tomorrow but I think that's more for Alex to deal with than the rest of the guys. I don't think it'll be a big deal."

Rodriguez's suspension of at least 214 games would be the longest handed out by baseball to a player or manager since Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1988 for gambling. Rodriguez, sidelined by various injuries, has been on a minor league rehab assignment where he has posted a pedestrain slash line of .214/.333/.452 with three home runs and ten RBIs in 51 plate appearances across four levels of the Yankees' system.

SATURDAY, 10:44pm: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets that sources say there's a chance MLB will reach a compromise with A-Rod's camp prior to a 6 p.m. Sunday deadline, though one source judged the possibility to be "next to nil."

9:11pm: Sources tell Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports that A-Rod expects MLB to impose his suspension using the collective bargaining and drug agreements, meaning that he will not play for the Yankees on Monday against the White Sox.

7:57pm: A-Rod will be suspended Monday, sources tell T.J. Quinn and Andrew Marchand of ESPN. The suspension will likely run through the end of the 2014 season. Tense discussions reportedly "broke down completely" today after MLB Commissioner Bud Selig informed officials he would no longer negotiate with Rodriguez's camp.

7:41pm: Around 20 players altogether may be punished, T.J. Quinn of ESPN reports via Twitter. That total includes around 12 players who will be punished as major leaguers. However, several minor league players are also expected to receive punishment, Quinn adds.

4:03pm: Barring a dramatic change in the eleventh hour, MLB plans to just institute their suspension of A-Rod without further negotiations, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Rodriguez's camp also called the Yankees to try and work out a deal on the remainder of his hefty contract, but they were rebuffed (link).

FRIDAY, 8:05pm: There is no 6pm deadline for players to accept suspensions, according to a report from Teri Thompson, Bill Madden, and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News. The trio explains that 50-game suspensions are likely (as expected) for all involved players except for Rodriguez. As for A-Rod, with negotiations apparently stalled, the Daily News reporters say that MLB appears to be leaning away from a lifetime ban. Echoing this morning's reports, the league reportedly believes that a suspension in the 200-game vicinity would be "more palatable to an arbitrator."

5:05pm: Players facing Biogenesis-related suspensions, including Rodriguez, will have until 6pm EST to settle their cases, tweets Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Otherwise, the league will (as previously reported) move forward with suspensions, with an announcement coming Monday. 

12:57pm: Heyman tweets that players have been informed the suspensions will be announced on Monday.

12:04pm: While there has been speculation that suspensions for players involved in the Biogenesis investigation would be announced today, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that it's looking more likely that they'll be delayed until Sunday. Major League Baseball is prioritizing the suspensions for players other than Alex Rodriguez, because there is still no indication that A-Rod is willing to cut a deal (Twitter links). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, meanwhile, tweets that the suspensions should come out Sunday or Monday.

Sunday would be a last-minute deadline, as some teams (the Rangers, for example) will have exactly 50 games remaining after that point. The Tigers, who stand to potentially lose Jhonny Peralta, will only have played 109 games at that point and therefore aren't in as much danger.

As USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote, MLB is said to be willing to suspend Rodriguez through the 2014 season — a ban of roughly 217 games that would cost the three-time MVP more than $34MM in salary. However, contrary to other reports that say Rodriguez refuses to discuss a deal, Heyman reports that there are indications that Rodriguez may be open to discussing a slightly lesser penalty. Heyman lists a 150-game suspension as a compromise possibility but adds that it isn't clear how many games MLB is willing to shave off the 217-game proposal, or if they're even willing to come down at all. Rodriguez is scheduled to play in rehab games for Double-A Trenton this weekend, beginning tonight.

In regard to Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, commissioner Bud Selig is prepared to bypass the grievance procedure in the collectively-bargained joint drug agreement, disciplining A-Rod under the "integrity of the game" clause Article XI, Section A1b, according to Teri Thompson, Bill Madden, Nathaniel Vinton, and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News.  Under that scenario, only Selig himself would hear an appeal.

FanGraphs' Wendy Thurm wrote about this possibility several weeks ago, calling it Selig's "nuclear option."  Selig's decision would be final, and could not be further appealed to an arbitrator or court.

MLB will reportedly announce the Biogenesis suspensions this week.  It's also been reported that if Rodriguez, approaching his season debut after hip surgery and a quad injury, does not accept a suspension running through 2014, MLB may attempt to ban him for life.

There are strong indications that MLB will announce all the suspensions in the Biogenesis case this week, according to Joel Sherman and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.  It is believed MLB wants to make the suspensions formal this week so that first-time offenders can serve a 50 game suspension inside of the 2013 season.  That, in theory, would give players incentive not to appeal the decision and enter 2014 with a clean slate.  

In the case of Alex Rodriguez, he could be hit with a suspension that will sideline him for the rest of this season and all of 2014.  Rodriguez’s representatives met with MLB officials in the past few days in what was likely an effort to better gauge the potential penalties coming his way.  

His suspension will be substantial as MLB believes the combination of being a user and obstructing the case demands a much stiffer penalty than what was given to Ryan Braun.  It is even possible that Bud Selig could ask for permanent banishment, though it would be hard to convince an arbitrator, if Rodriguez appeals, that his first suspension should be for life.