According to a Sports Illustrated report, Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta is the 12th major-league player to show up in the records of Tony Bosch, director of the controversial Biogenesis clinic in Florida.
The clinic is being investigated by Major League Baseball for links to performance-enhancing drugs.
According to SI, Peralta was not directly linked to PEDs by Bosch's records, but MLB has said that it will investigate all players who appear in the files. Other players attached to the scandal have included Alex Rodriguez, Nelson Cruz, Ryan Braun and Gio Gonzalez.
Barry Boss, an attorney for Peralta, issued a statement on his behalf:
"I have never used performance enhancing drugs. Period. Anybody who says otherwise is lying."
The Tigers issued the following statement:
“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.”
Peralta wasn't included in the original Miami New Times story about the clinic's links to major-league players, but the paper said that they left several names out of the story for the sake of caution. Braun and Peralta's names have both come out since the original story.
Peralta, 30, struggled last season, hitting .239 with 13 homers -- a decline of 60 percentage points and eight homers from 2011. He also looked sluggish in the field, especially on balls requiring lateral range.
He was much better in the playoffs, where he made several outstanding defensive plays in the series victories over Oakland and New York. Peralta hit .294 against the A's in the ALDS, then batted .389 with a pair of homers in the sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS. Like most of his teammates, he had a poor World Series, getting just one hit in 15 at-bats.
Although shortstop was considered a position the Tigers might attempt to upgrade during the offseason, they didn't make a move.
If Peralta were to become unavailable, the team would be left with Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth as their only experienced shortstops. Santiago hit .206 and Worth .216 in 2012.
Tigers president Dave Dombrowski told the Miami New Times that he would not comment on the story.
