The Major League Baseball Players Association is conducting an investigation to determine the roles of certain agents in last year’s Biogenesis scandal, ESPN’s T.J. Quinn reports. Specifically, Quinn writes, the investigation will look into ACES — who represented 10 Biogenesis clients — and CAA (Ryan Braun’s agency).
This isn’t the first time that ACES has come under investigation by the MLBPA. Following Melky Cabrera’s 2012 suspension for PED use, ACES employee Juan Carlos Nunez assisted Cabrera in creating a fake web site in a bizarre attempt to explain the failed drug test. Brothers Seth and Sam Levinson, the founders of ACES, said at the time that although Nunez was certified as an agent, he was a consultant and they were unaware of his actions. Late MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner released a statement at the time that said a “thorough investigation” had been conducted that cleared any ACES principals of involvement with the scam.
This new investigation, Quinn reports, will seek to determine if the Levinson brothers were aware of Nunez’s work with Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch or his involvement in Cabrera’s web site. Quinn adds that any agents who are found to have been complicit or to have violated their duties could lose their certification, though the MLBPA’s agent regulations do allow for lesser penalties.
The investigation is being run by veteran attorney Robert Muse, according to Quinn. He and his team are expected to release a report within a few weeks.
