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.

The pharmacy is under investigation for illegally distributing prescription medications.

The substances were obtained through South Beach Rejuvenation Center/Modern Therapy, a Miami Beach clinic, and sent through Signature, SI.com said.

Ankiel met with baseball lawyers Sept. 11 following a report by the New York Daily News that he received eight shipments of prescription HGH in 2004, before it was banned by baseball.

Glaus received shipments at a Corona, Calif., address that traces to the player, SI.com said, citing a source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list. SI.com said its information dealt only with receipt of steroids and not use.

Schoeneweis, the veteran New York Mets reliever and a survivor of testicular cancer, received six steroid shipments from Signature Pharmacy while playing for the Chicago White Sox in 2003 and 2004, ESPN reported.

Matthews was sent HGH in 2004 from a pharmacy being investigated for illegal distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, The Times Union of Albany, N.Y., reported last winter. Matthews denied using HGH, which was not banned by baseball for players with major league contracts until 2005.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.