On Wednesday, ESPN reported that former MLB superstar Alex Rodriguez provided federal investigators with the names of players who were using performance-enhancing drugs in a 2014 meeting. Rodriguez and investigators met before the then-Yankees third baseman served a 162-game suspension for PED use, which was reduced from an initial 211 games on appeal. Rodriguez identified Manny Ramirez, Ryan Braun and an unnamed All-Star player as those who used banned substances.
It’s one thing for Rodriguez to use PEDs himself, but it’s another for him to reveal the identities of other users. Former Yankees pitcher David Wells explained that Rodriguez’s naming names was as bad as taking the PEDs in the first place.
“That’s not good. That will come back to bite you in the a– tenfold,” Wells said during an interview with Foul Territory. “Nobody likes a rat. You always lie your way out of everything until you get caught and then you got to come clean.”
The Biogenesis scandal, in which Rodriguez was embroiled, was the most recent significant MLB steroid investigation. While investigating Rodriguez, federal investigators granted him immunity from legal punishment if he named other users.
Although both Rodriguez and Wells both played for the Yankees, they never played together as teammates. However, Wells did seem to understand the idea of taking PEDs in the first place, joking that he wishes he had done so during his career.
“I wish I would’ve done the steroids now,” Wells said with a laugh. “I would have had a better body, and who knows what the hell would have happened.”
