Major League Baseball

Peralta, Montero linked to Miami clinic

Published Feb. 6, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

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The drumbeat of news about performance-enhancing drugs in baseball continued Wednesday, with Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta and Seattle Mariners catcher Jesus Montero the latest names to emerge.

Early in the day, the New York Daily News reported that Montero’s name was listed in records of the Biogenesis clinic currently under investigation by Major League Baseball. Later, an SI.com story said Peralta’s name also appeared in Biogenesis records.

Peralta issued the following statement through attorney Barry Boss: “I have never used performance-enhancing drugs. Period. Anybody who says otherwise is lying.” The Tigers said in a statement Wednesday that they support baseball’s drug testing program but declined to make further comment because “this matter is currently part of an investigation by Major League Baseball.”

Montero told the Seattle Times he has “no clue” how his name appeared in the Biogenesis records. According to the newspaper, Montero also said he doesn’t know clinic proprietor Anthony Bosch and had never heard Bosch’s name before Wednesday.

With the Peralta and Montero reports, the number of active players publicly linked to the Miami-area Biogenesis clinic has reached 12. The others: Alex Rodríguez, Melky Cabrera, Gio Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, Yasmani Grandal, Bartolo Colon and Cesar Carrillo from the initial Miami New Times report; and Ryan Braun, Danny Valencia and Francisco Cervelli by Yahoo! Sports.

The seven players identified in the New Times report had substances listed beside their names. Reports say that was not true of the other five: Braun, Valencia, Cervelli, Peralta and Montero.

Peralta, Montero, Cabrera, Gonzalez and Cruz are clients of the New York-based ACES sports agency. ACES has been scrutinized since last August, when the Daily News reported that Juan Nunez – a former runner for the agency – created a phony website in an effort to help Cabrera avoid punishment for a positive PED test. That attempt failed, and MLB suspended Cabrera for 50 games.

Seth Levinson, a partner at ACES, said in a statement Wednesday: “Anyone who knows us knows that it is absolutely ridiculous to think that we would ever condone the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Our work over the last 25 years demonstrates that ACES is built on a foundation of honesty, integrity and doing things the right way. Neither Sam [Levinson, Seth’s brother] nor I or anyone else at ACES have ever met or even heard of Anthony Bosch until the recent News stories, nor does anyone have any knowledge of or connection to Biogenesis.

“Moreover, Juan Nunez ceased doing work on behalf of the agency as soon as his involvement in the Melky Cabrera matter came to light. The MLBPA’s investigation into that matter found that we had no involvement in or knowledge of any wrongdoing. Similarly, in this case, we are not involved and do not have any knowledge as to what took place or who was allegedly involved.”

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