Updated 09:07 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

MLB News Updates: Should Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez Get More Drug Tests? [Poll]

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It will take a few more drug tests before New York Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez as he returns from a year-long suspension.

The "increased drug testing," according to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, is a protocol for previous drug offenders in the league. ESPN noted that Rodriguez was suspended for 162 games due to PED (performance enhancing drugs) use.

"Let me be clear about this; he'll be tested exactly like every other player who has violated the program. The program requires more frequent testing for players who are coming back after a suspension," the commissioner explained in the ESPN report.

Quoting Section 3.D of the MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, New York Daily News said that an MLB player who has been sanctioned for violating the league's drug program "shall be subject to mandatory follow-up testing, including six unannounced urine collections and three unannounced blood collections over the 12-month period following the violation as well as each subsequent year of the player's career as long as he's on a 40-man roster."

The same report explained that Rodriguez was suspended in 2013 for the use and possession of "numerous forms of PED substances including testosterone and human growth hormone." The league also reportedly said that he attempted to cover up his violations by obstructing the investigation of the Office of the Commissioner.

The baseball commissioner told New York Daily News that the league's testing policy is considered by many as "the most comprehensive of all major North American sports." But despite this strict program for players, Manfred said they are bent to continuously monitor players with their state-of-the-art testing.

"It's as good as it can be. I think everyone in sports - WADA, USADA - has given a lot of praise to our investigative capacity. But I think you need to stay really vigilant on both fronts because this is a science - kind of a black science, but a science nonetheless - and it evolves. We have to make sure that we're evolving with it," he told New York Daily News.

Baseball fans reportedly had "mixed reactions" with Rodriguez's return to the sports, but Manfred noted that he should be welcomed back after the ban which was considered "the longest PED-related ban in baseball history."

"Alex served a very long suspension. Once he served that time, baseball ought to welcome him back - and I think we've done a good job. He's played well. Good for him," the commissioner added.

For his part, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is also happy with Rodriguez's return. "I think he's done a great job. He's been positive, he's been out here working hard, he's playing well. . . . Our whole goal, as I told him when we met a month or so ago, he's got to get through spring training healthy and then he'll be able to contribute to the club," the team owner said in the New York Daily News article.

After taking a long-hiatus from the league due to his suspension, do you think the Yankees infielder should really undergo more drug tests unlike other MLB players? Let us know what you think.

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