Could Alex Rodriguez face suspension for seeking second opinion? (UPDATED)
Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees may have to get together and coordinate a time when they can each suspend Alex Rodriguez. As you have likely heard, the A-Rod injury saga has gotten more out of control than the former slugger’s alleged involvement with Tony Bosch’s Biogenesis clinic.
Believe it or not, if A-Rod winds up being suspended for his involvement with Biogenesis, it may not be the first penalty he faces. According to Newsday’s Steven Marcus, the Yankees are planning to discipline Rodriguez for seeking a second opinion on his quad MRI without getting permission first.
“There will be some discipline, [the Yankees] haven’t decided what yet,” a source reportedly told Marcus.
Yankees team doctor Christopher Ahmad diagnosed A-Rod with a Grade 1 quad strain on Sunday, and the slugger took the MRI results to his personal doctor, Dr. Michael Gross of Hackensack Medical Center, for a second opinion. As GM Brian Cashman pointed out on Thursday, Rodriguez violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by informing the team that he was having another doctor examine the results after he had already gone ahead and done so.
“[A-Rod] said he felt great, he wanted to play,” Newsday’s source said. “He did trust Chris Ahmad and that he’s seen another doctor. He didn’t say who. He was told he could do whatever he wants, as long as he follows the procedures. On Wednesday morning, he was called [by the Yankees] at the training facility [in Tampa], he refused to take the call.”
Most people expect A-Rod to be suspended for his involvement in Biogenesis, with some speculating that he could facing a lifetime ban. A possible suspension from the team for seeking a second opinion is a new wrinkle in what has become a never-ending soap opera. If this were happening to any other player, we might be a tiny bit surprised.
UPDATE: According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Yankees will fine A-Rod an undisclosed amount.
