Alex Rodriguez told DEA agents and federal prosecutors in January that he bought and used performance-enhancing drugs from Anthony Bosch, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
The newspaper reviewed a 15-page synopsis of the New York Yankees third baseman’s meeting with federal agents, which took place on Jan 29, 2014. Since the Biogenesis scandal broke and yielded multiple suspensions in 2013, Rodriguez vehemently denied the charges.
According to the newspaper, in a Drug Enforcement Administration conference room back in January, facing federal agents and prosecutors who granted him immunity, baseball’s highest-paid player admitted -He bought performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis of America, paying roughly $12,000 a month to Bosch, the fake doctor who owned the clinic.Bosch gave him pre-filled syringes for hormone injections into the ballplayer’s stomach, and even drew blood from him in the men’s room of a South Beach nightclub; and Rodriguez’s cousin, Yuri Sucart, was his steroid go-to guy.
—Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner underwent abdominal muscle surgery on Oct. 16 to repair a core muscle injury to his right rectus abdominis muscle near his ribs. The surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Philadelphia Vincera Institute.
Gardner told Sirius XM/MLB Network Radio that he underwent minor surgery for a sports hernia/core muscle injury. The surgery has a recovery period of four weeks,
Gardner, 31, signed a four-year, $52 million extension before last season. In 148 games, he battled .256 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs, 87 runs scored and 21 stolen bases.
—The Texas Rangers announced Wednesday that former All-Star player Michael Young is coming back to the organization as a special assistant to the general manager.
Young, the team’s longtime captain before he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012, played 12 seasons for the Rangers and was a seven-time All-Star. The 38-year-old third baseman retired in January 2014 after a 13-year major league career.
Young will work with general manager Jon Daniels and his staff in all areas of baseball operations, including player evaluation and player development at the major and minor league level, special assignments and scouting trips.
—The Houston Astros obtained catcher Hank Conger in a trade with the Angels on Wednesday for right-hander Nick Tropeano and minor league catcher Carlos Perez.
The 26-year-old Conger batted .221 with four home runs and a career-best 25 RBIs in 80 games for the Angels last season. He’s expected to back up starting catcher Jason Castro.
Tropeano posted a 1-3 record with a 4.57 ERA in four games for Houston last season. At Triple-A Oklahoma City, he went 9-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 23 games. Perez batted .259 with six home runs and 34 RBIs in Triple-A last season.
—Former major league pitcher Brad Halsey died Friday in Texas at age 33.
USA Today reported that Halsey, who last pitched in the big leagues in 2006, was killed in a recreational climbing accident near his home in New Braunfels, Texas. The Comal (Texas) County Sheriff’s Office will not release any information on Halsey’s death until its investigation is finished.
Halsey made his major league debut in 2004 for the New York Yankees and was pitching for the Oakland Athletics in 2006 when he gave up the 714th career home run by San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds. He went on to pitch in independent leagues and for the Yankees’ Triple-A Trenton (N.J.) team in 2011.
—Outfielder/second baseman Alfonso Soriano, out of baseball since he was released by the New York Yankees at midseason, announced his retirement Tuesday in a radio interview in the Dominican Republic.
Soriano, 38, played 16 major league seasons and hit 412 home runs, which ranks 50th all time and was fourth among players who appeared in a game in 2014.
Breaking in with the Yankees in 1999, Soriano spent the first five seasons of his career in the Bronx before he was dealt to the Rangers in the Alex Rodriguez deal in February 2004. Soriano played for Texas, the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs before finishing back with the Yankees his final two seasons.
—The Los Angeles Dodgers are turning to a man with a head for figures as their new general manager. Oakland A’s assistant general manager Farhan Zaidi will be officially hired as Dodgers GM later this week, multiple media outlets reported.
The Dodgers’ front office, revised since new president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman took over and GM Ned Colletti was reassigned last month, figures to include other new faces, too. Former Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres GM Josh Byrnes will join the Dodgers, multiple media outlets reported.
According to ESPNLosAngeles.com, Byrnes might be the scouting director, but the Los Angeles Times reported that former Padres scouting director Billy Gasparino might take that role at Chavez Ravine.