On Tuesday the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested former director of Biogenesis of America, Tony Bosch, and charged nine others with distributing illegal drugs to athletes around the country. The MLB has asked the DEA if they can gain access to some of the obtained evidence.
Following last year's Biogenesis Scandal that rocked the MLB and resulted in 13 simultaneous suspensions (the most ever in baseball history), Commissioner Bud Selig sought to lay down the law when it came to performance enhancing drugs. He suspended Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun (65 games) for the remainder of the 2013 season (because Braun accepted an alleged plea deal) and Alex Rodriguez for the entire 2014 season (after he rejected an alleged deal and fought to get off with no punishment). The MLB hopes to hand out more punishments if they can get their hands on evidence from the federal investigation.
According to ESPN's "Outside the Lines," MLB officials have contacted the DEA to gain access to Biogenesis' client files to see if any other professional baseball players violated the league's drug policy. The current ongoing federal investigation of Biogenesis, Tony Bosch and his other accomplices is unrelated to the MLB's investigation that was conducted last year. The DEA's investigation sought to determine "whether Bosch acted in the role of a physician (he is not licensed as one); how the clinic obtained and administered human growth hormone, steroids, and other drugs, as well as the source; and whether teenagers were provided performance-enhancing drugs," according to this ESPN article.
"Outside the Lines" also reported that two federal law enforcement sources said there are a number of previously undisclosed players that have been identified through the federal investigation (DEA's Operation Strikeout) and the names will be eventually made public, but the MLB wants immediate access to the information so they can hand down the necessary punishments for those who violated the league's drug policy. As of now, it is said that five players were identified during the investigation and there is significant evidence against them, but it is unknown if the players are currently on MLB rosters.
I don't know when the names will come out. When they do, MLB needs to evaluate, then prepare case, inform player of suspension. Then...
— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) August 8, 2014
Player will have 3 days to decide to accept or appeal. Would think a player on a playoff team would appeal to stay on the field this season.
— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) August 8, 2014
The evidence suggests that the identified players were not directly associated with Tony Bosch, and instead were linked to his associates that were also charged in Tuesdays arrests. It remains to be seen how the DEA will handle the MLB's request since the two were conflicting for months over their separate investigations of Biogenesis.
You can read more about the Biogenesis arrests in this ESPN article.
