February 6, 2013

BP Unfiltered

Jhonny Peralta Makes Five ACES Clients Tied to East Coast BALCO

by Maury Brown

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First, it was Manny Ramirez. Then, it was Melky Cabrera. More recently, it has been Bartolo Colon, Gio Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, and Alex Rodriguez. Now, according to a report by SI.com’s Tom Verducci, Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta has been found in the records of Tony Bosch and Biogenesis, the wellness clinic in Miami that is being coined the “East Coast BALCO.”

But, in a case that may be a more disturbing trend than a random assortment of MLB players being in the ledgers of the lab that has potentially doled out hGH, creams containing testosterone, and other banned substances, of the 12 players that have surfaced in the media with potential ties to Biogenesis, five have been or are currently represented by the player agency ACES, run by Seth and Sam Levinson.

Peralta is now added to Nelson Cruz, Gio Gonzalez, Jesus Montero, and Melky Cabrera, whose 50-game suspension for elevated levels of testosterone and a fake website that he planned to use as a potential loophole to get out of any suspension, all have associations to ACES.

The Tigers issued a statement tonight regarding the SI.com report saying:

“The Detroit Tigers fully support Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

We are aware of this report, however since this matter is currently part of an investigation by Major League Baseball, the Club is not at liberty to comment.”

This story is likely just beginning and begs the question, what potential fallout could still occur? And, is this the last player tied to ACES who surfaces as part of the investigation into Biogenesis? 

Maury Brown is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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