NASHVILLE - Major League Baseball yesterday suspended newly signed Kansas City Royals outfielder Jose Guillen and Baltimore Orioles outfielder/DH Jay Gibbons for 15 days at the start of next season for violation of the drug policy. The suspensions are a forerunner to what might be additional sanctions when former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's steroid report is released in the next two weeks.
Guillen and Gibbons were linked to the purchase of human growth hormone in media reports. MLB decided there was evidence to suggest Gibbons and Guillen were in violation. Meanwhile, no punishments were imposed on Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus, Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel, and Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis because of "insufficient evidence."
The punishments are less severe than anticipated. According to one baseball official with knowledge of the procedure in disciplining players, Guillen and Gibbons were punished according to the previous doping policy, which at the time carried a 15-day suspension for a second offense. The policy has since been beefed up to 50 games for a first offense, 100 games for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third.
Guillen, who signed a three-year, $36 million deal with the Royals yesterday, bought $20,000 worth of human growth hormone and steroids from the Palm Beach (Fla.) Rejuvenation Center between May 2002 and June 2005, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. SI.com reported that Gibbons received six shipments of Genotropin (a brand name for synthetic human growth hormone), two shipments of testosterone, and two shipments of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) between October 2003 and July 2005.
Indians pitcher Paul Byrd reportedly received shipments of HGH from the same dentist who filled out Guillen's prescriptions. The dentist had his license suspended in 2003 for fraud and incompetence. The anti-aging clinic he worked for was raided as part of the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney's office investigation, from which some of the information for the Mitchell report will be derived. Byrd, who has not been interviewed by the commissioner's office, has said he took HGH for medical reasons.
Ankiel met with baseball's attorneys Sept. 11 after New York's Daily News published reports that he had received eight shipments of HGH in 2004. But because there was no HGH ban yet in place, Ankiel escaped punishment. That also appears to be the case with Glaus, Schoeneweis, and Matthews, who were all linked to ordering HGH before 2005, when the ban on performance-enhancing drugs was put in place.
Guillen told the players' union to file a grievance, which will be decided by an arbitrator.
Gibbons accepted the punishment and said in a statement, "I am deeply sorry for the mistakes that I have made. I have no excuses and bear sole responsibility for my decisions. Years ago, I relied on the advice of a doctor, filled a prescription, charged the HGH, which is a medication, to my credit card, and had only intended to help speed my recovery from injuries and surgeries."
Orioles president Andy MacPhail said in a statement, "We completely support the commissioner's program and his decision with regard to Jay Gibbons's suspension. Jay has acknowledged his mistake, and we appreciate his willingness to accept the consequences."
It's evident the Mitchell report will delineate a timeline as to when players violated doping policies and what punishments, if any, were in place.
Union officials had no response to the penalties.
Jones cashes in
The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping Andruw Jones can duplicate Mike Lowell.Lowell hit .236 with 8 homers and 58 RBIs for the Marlins in 2005, then rebounded after being traded to the Red Sox and was the World Series MVP this past season.
Jones, 30, a free agent coming off a miserable season with the Atlanta Braves, signed with LA early yesterday for $36.2 million over two years. "Some people may say he's not the same player he was five or six years ago," said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. "We'll find out. But he's still probably the best center fielder in the National League. Offensively, people consider it a down year, but he had his power numbers in home runs and runs batted in. Some people call that a career year."
A fallback for the Dodgers is that their commitment to Jones - who batted .222 with 26 homers and 94 RBIs in 2007 - won't be long term. It's a year longer than they hoped for, but agent Scott Boras was looking for a five-year deal. And the Dodgers, who have been reluctant to deal young players for established ones, thought the deal made sense.
Jones and Boras met with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and manager Joe Torre in LA this week. After that meeting, Jones said he would lower his demands for a longer term if the money were increased. That's what happened.
Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, will man center field and add much-needed thump to the LA order. The Dodgers could now deal outfielder Matt Kemp in a package for a pitcher, but Colletti warned, "We're not of a mind to give up three or four prospects for one player." But he conceded, "It makes our quest for starting pitching even more focused, perhaps even more possible."
Boras is a season ticket-holder at Dodger Stadium, but his relationship with the club had been somewhat strained since another Boras client, J.D. Drew, opted out of a five-year, $55 million deal after three seasons and signed with the Red Sox last winter. The Royals and San Francisco Giants were the only other teams known to be interested in Jones. He had said last spring that he wanted to play in a warmer climate when it had become evident that he was not returning to Atlanta.
Boras puts together booklets on all of his clients that accentuate the players' value. When asked if he had read the book on Jones, Colletti said, "I didn't need to see the book. I saw the player."
Jones now is the fifth-highest-paid player in baseball, behind Alex Rodriguez ($27.5 million), Manny Ramírez ($20 million), Derek Jeter ($18.9 million), and Carlos Zambrano ($18.3 million). The .263 career hitter has 368 home runs and 1,117 RBIs. In 2005, he hit 51 homers with 128 RBIs and was the runner-up for the NL MVP Award.
He'll work with new hitting coach Don Mattingly, and the Dodgers hope that will help him approximate his past production.
Jones likely will bat third. It appears Rafael Furcal will be the leadoff man, followed by Juan Pierre, who would move to left field from center. After Jones would come second baseman Jeff Kent, first baseman James Loney, right fielder Kemp, and one of a two-man platoon at third base, Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche.
The Dodgers have Andre Ethier as an extra player or potential trade bait. It remains unlikely that they will package young players for Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, or Dan Haren.
Twins stand pat
The Twins are holding on to Santana for the time being. "It's only one phone call away," said Twins GM Bill Smith of a trade for the ace lefthander, whose price - reportedly $150 million for six years - is too rich for Minnesota.Manager Ron Gardenhire wanted to clarify the Twins' position. "Everybody thinks we're just launching people," he said. "That's not the case, or Santana would have been traded. We've had good offers from people on Santana, but it has to be a package that we're comfortable with that's going to help us win this year and all the way through the opening of the new stadium [in 2010]."
Gardenhire said he was pleased with the work the Twins have done to rebuild so far.
"The same way we got Delmon Young [from Tampa Bay for a package including Matt Garza]," he said. "We got a great young hitter. That's very important for our fan base to know that we're not just sitting here launching guys. We're making sure that we're going to compete. We want to win. We want to keep up with these other guys. We ask [fans] to understand what we're trying to do here and not trying to sell out our baseball team. We're trying to win. That's all we're trying to ask our fan base is to stick with us."
Matsui on market?
The Yankees and Giants have been talking about a deal for New York outfielder Hideki Matsui. But while the Giants covet Matsui's bat, they will have trouble satisfying the Yankees' demands. The Yankees want one of two young righthanders - Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum - but it's unlikely Giants GM Brian Sabean would part with either for Matsui. He could be tempted in a deal for Blue Jays right fielder Alex Rios . . . Mets GM Omar Minaya reiterated yesterday he feels he has the wherewithal to get Santana. The Mets might, but they would have to give up players such as outfielders Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez as well as pitchers Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber. As of now, the Twins don't particularly care for the pitching end of the deal and consider Jon Lester of the Red Sox and Phil Hughes of the Yankees better options. "We've been in dialogue in regard to all of the pitchers available in the trade market [Santana, Haren, Joe Blanton, and Bedard]," said Minaya, "and I think we have the horses to do it."Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.
