Guillen, Gibbons Suspended for HGH

Dec. 6, 2007 — -- Kansas City's Jose Guillen and Baltimore's Jay Gibbons were suspended for the first 15 days of next season by Major League Baseball on Thursday for violating the sport's drug program.

The pair were linked in media reports to the purchase of human growth hormone. So were Gary Matthews Jr., Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus and Scott Schoeneweis, but Major League Baseball decided there was "insufficient evidence" to determine they committed a doping violation.

Guillen told ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas that his lawyers will appeal the sanction, but he will not comment further on the case. ESPN.com first reported that MLB and the players association were negotiating a 10- to 15-day suspension for Guillen on Wednesday.

Royals General Manager Dayton Moore said the club will support Guillen.

"We signed Jose knowing that was a possibility," Moore said Thursday. "While my initial reaction is one of disappointment, I am thoroughly convinced that Jose will put this behind him."

The San Francisco Chronicle reported last month that Guillen bought nearly $20,000 worth of steroids and human growth hormone from 2003 through 2005.

Citing business records, the Chronicle reported Guillen bought more than $19,000 worth of drugs from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center between May 2002 and June 2005. He played for five teams during that span: the Diamondbacks, Reds, Athletics, Angels and Nationals.

According to the report, some prescriptions for Guillen were written by the same Florida dentist whose license was suspended in 2003 for fraud and incompetence. The dentist also reportedly prescribed HGH to Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd.

Guillen had some of the shipments sent to the Oakland Coliseum during the 2003 season, after he was traded to the A's, according to the report. The anti-aging clinic was raided in February as part of an investigation by the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney.

Gibbons got six shipments of Genotropin (a brand name for synthetic human growth hormone), two shipments of testosterone and two shipments of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) between October 2003 and July 2005, SI.com said on Sept. 9, citing a source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list.