The baseball world was given an unwanted headline over the weekend when an Al Jazeera documentary on performance-enhancing drugs in sports listed Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and Chicago Cubs catcher Taylor Teagarden as professional athletes alleged to have been supplied illegal PEDs from an Indiana-based anti-aging clinic.
The documentary's claims became instantly questionable when its primary source, Charlie Sly, recanted his entire story to the news organization. Still, a Major League Baseball spokesman told the Washington Post that the league intends to conduct a "thorough investigation" into the players named in the report, which was posted to Al Jazeera's website Sunday morning.
While Zimmerman and Howard may well be innocent, things don't look good for Teagarden. The hidden camera used in the documentary shows Teagarden talking openly about using PEDs, specifically a drug known as Delta-2. The 32-year-old also admits to using peptides, all of which went undetected by MLB's drug tests.
Given the information in the report, Buster Olney of ESPN.com revisits the growing suspicion among players and executives that the number of players using PEDs has risen, again. Olney writes that among the victims of PED users is fellow players who are losing money to those that are juicing to achieve their success. That said, "It's up to the union members to take the next step if they want to significantly reduce the incentive to cheat," Olney writes.
Once the fallout from the report is determined, it will be interesting to see if MLB pushes to ramp up its PED policies following Teagarden's revelations. Until then, here are a few rumors making their way around the majors today:
Kenta Maeda: The Los Angeles Dodgers are seen as the front-runner to land the Japanese ace, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Given the Dodgers' need for pitching (specifically, right-handers), it's no surprise that the team is making a serious run at Maeda, who won Japan's equivalent to the Cy Young this year. A deal similar to the one Mike Leake received from the St. Louis Cardinals (five years, $80 million) has been "bandied about," Cafardo writes. However, L.A. would need to pay a $20 million posting fee to the Hiroshima Carp for the rights to negotiate with Maeda first. The 27-year-old's signing deadline is Friday, Jan. 8 at 5 p.m. ET, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reports. The Dodgers are also looking at free agents Scott Kazmir and Wei-Yin Chen and continue to eye Jake Odorizzi and Alex Cobb of the Tampa Bay Rays, Cafardo writes.
J.D. Martinez: The Detroit Tigers have yet to start serious negotiations on a contract extension with Martinez, Tony Paul of the Detroit News reports. Both sides are said to be interested in a deal, and talks are likely to begin in early January, Paul writes. Martinez has posted big power numbers since his first year with the Tigers in 2014 and, at 28, is just entering his prime. A possible deal for the outfielder could be four years for around $60 million, and probably backloaded, Paul estimates.
Nick Castellanos: Another Tiger that Paul mentions is Castellanos, who is drawing trade interest. The 23-year-old is a former top prospect but has underachieved in his two full seasons at the major league level. Although other clubs have asked about the third baseman, it's unlikely that Detroit would move him given his young age, potential and distant free agency (he's under team control through 2019).
Cleveland Indians: Perhaps a reason why the Indians have yet to trade any of their highly coveted pitching is Terry Francona's fondness of the group. The skipper spoke with Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the possibility of dealing a starter. "As long as we have pitching, I feel like we're always going to have a chance," said Francona. "We were all in agreement that we were not going to trade one of our [top] starters unless we were overwhelmed with an offer." Given its lack of offense, Cleveland has made plenty of rumors as a team willing to trade pitching for a bat. However, Francona said he would rather "take his chances" with what they have than deal an arm away.
Mike Dunn: It's looking as if the Miami Marlins will trade Dunn, Cafardo also reports. The left-hander throws hard and has good strikeout numbers, but his control issues (29 walks in 54 innings last season) could scare some teams away. The 30-year-old will be a free agent after the 2016 season.
