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The talk of the baseball world today centers on Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs as part of a negotiated 65-game suspension handed down by the commissioner’s office.
On paper, the suspension doesn’t seem to affect the San Diego Padres at all. But there are two players tied to Braun and his suspension who might be more apt to enter similar negotiations with MLB.
Yasmani Grandal missed the first 50 games of this season due to a league suspension for heightened testosterone levels in a test for performance-enhancing drugs. He took over the starting catcher’s job from Nick Hundley on game 51 of the season, and was seemingly rounding into playing shape when he tore his ACL in his 28th game of the year. The Padres hope Grandal will be ready to start the 2014 season with the team, but there’s a real possibility that he’ll miss the beginning of the year — again.
Everth Cabrera was the lone Padres all-star this year, although you wouldn’t know it by watching the game. Despite not getting on the field at all in New York, Cabrera is still having a breakout season. He’s posting career highs for batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He’s well on his way to making 2013 his best season for HRs, doubles, RBIs, steals and WAR.
What do these two have in common with Braun? Biogenesis.
According to an ESPN report last month, Braun and Alex Rodriguez were two of 20 players who the MLB was targeting for suspension in connection to a Florida anti-aging clinic named Biogenesis. Grandal and Cabrera were among the 20, although Braun is the only one to have been issued a suspension.
Braun’s name has been linked to PEDs in the past, with him steadfastly denying involvement each time. For him to change his tune and negotiate with the MLB, accept the suspension and publicly admitting guilt, he must have seen proof that he had no chance of winning a legal battle against the league. If any similar evidence will be used against Cabrera and/or Grandal, Padres fans could see two of the team’s best young players sitting on the sidelines for a very long time.
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