San Francisco Giants outfielder Jose Guillen, who was supposedly left off the
World Series team's playoff roster due to a neck injury, has been linked to
an investigation into a shipment of human growth hormone allegedly sent to
his wife, according to sources familiar with the probe.
The 34-year-old from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic - one of the Mitchell
Report stars - is believed to have become a subject of the investigation by
federal agents and customs authorities after Guillen's wife Yamel signed for
a shipment of human growth hormone addressed to her.
According to sources, four bottles of HGH were sent to Guillen's wife from
the D.R., but customs agents intercepted the package. The agents then
delivered the package, and when Yamel Guillen signed for it, the agents
conducted a raid on Guillen's home, according to a source familiar with the
action.
It is not the first time Guillen has been linked to performance-enhancing
drugs. Guillen, who has played for 10 different teams over 14 seasons, was
named in former Senator George Mitchell's 2007 report on the history of PED
use in baseball.
The Mitchell Report cited a 2007 San Francisco Chronicle article that said
Guillen purchased HGH, testosterone and other steroids "through the Palm
Beach Rejuvenation Center in multiple transactions over a three-year period
between 2002 and 2004 and possibly also in 2005." Guillen was on the
Diamondbacks and Reds in 2002, the Reds and A's in 2003 and the Angels in
2004. He was on the Nationals in 2005.
The Chronicle report also detailed how Guillen paid $2,180 by wire transfer
for HGH, testosterone cypionate, nandrolone and syringes on May 1, 2002. When
Guillen was with the A's in 2003, according to the Chronicle report, he used
a credit card to pay for $2,083 worth of HGH, testosterone propionate,
stanozolol and syringes that were all sent to the Oakland Coliseum.
The commissioner's office slapped Guillen with a 15-day suspension days
before the release of the Mitchell Report, and the outfielder was to have
served that ban at the start of the 2008 season when he was with the Royals.
But in April of 2008, Bud Selig announced that Guillen and other players
mentioned in the Mitchell Report would not be disciplined. In return for
amnesty for players whose "past acts" appeared in the report, the Players
Association agreed to contribute $200,000 to an anti-drug organization. MLB
also mandated then that players help in efforts to educate young athletes
about the dangers of PED use.
Guillen's agent, Adam Katz, would not comment when asked by the Daily News
about the allegations. When contacted before the start of the playoffs,
Giants senior director of media relations Jim Moorehead said he and the team
were not aware of any such legal woes involving Guillen. MLB and Giants
sources claimed to have only sketchy information about any possible
investigation involving Guillen at that time.
Guillen was traded to the Giants from Kansas City on Aug. 13. He batted .258
this season, with 19 home runs.
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