Mitchell wants medical records of Sosa, Palmeiro

Investigators into steroid use in baseball are seeking medical records from at least two of baseball's premier sluggers over the past dozen years, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro, as well as dozens of other players suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, a baseball official with direct knowledge of the request says.

The investigators in the inquiry headed by former Senator George J. Mitchell also have asked the Baltimore Orioles to send medical files relating to Jason Grimsley, David Segui, and Fernando Tatis to those players, the official said. The players then will be asked to authorize their release to Mitchell.

These are the first names to be definitively associated with the year-old Mitchell investigation. Grimsley's lawyer and Sosa declined to comment; efforts to reach Segui, Tatis, and Palmeiro's agents were unsuccessful.

Other players under Mitchell's scrutiny have not been publicly identified, although people who have been briefed on the development said the full list included players both expected and unexpected -- and that it excluded some players who might have been expected to be on the list.

The New York Daily News said on its website that Major League Baseball and the players' union reached an agreement this week that players will decide whether to release their medical records, according to unidentified baseball sources. Under the compromise, when Mitchell asks for a player's history, the team will give it to the player. After that, the player will decide whether he wants to cooperate.

Mitchell is trying to work around his lack of subpoena power. He is believed to be following up leads from a criminal investigation involving a former equipment manager for the Mets, who has admitted he provided drugs to dozens of players and has acted as a government informant since December 2005.