TAMPA — According to a person with knowledge of the situation, federal investigators have a list of 20 to 25 major league players they want to talk to about their relationship with Dr. Tony Galea.
On Monday, Alex Rodriguez confirmed they want to talk to him. Agents have already spoken to Jose Reyes, and yesterday fellow Met Carlos Beltran’s name surfaced in reports they are going to interview him.
Many believe the Feds’ interest in the players is to see if Galea treated them, and if he did, how.
“It doesn’t appear to more than that, but you never know,” a source said.
Scott Boras, Rodriguez’s agent, refused to address the issue.
“Even if I knew, I couldn’t comment because of the confidentiality,” Boras said.
Jay Reisinger, Rodriguez’s Pittsburgh-based lawyer, refused to talk about an ongoing investigation.
Joe Girardi didn’t want to address the Feds requesting to talk to Rodriguez about Galea. However, the manager didn’t believe it would develop into a distraction.
“I am not going to comment at this time,” Girardi said. “I don’t have enough information to comment.”
Though he is in the dark, Girardi isn’t concerned the situation will morph into a team distraction.
“No, we will see what happens,” Girardi said. “We will see what happens and cross the bridge when it comes.”
Rodriguez, who joined his teammates for an outing to GameWorks in Ybor City yesterday morning, said Monday he would cooperate with the Feds, but didn’t know when they were going to quiz him about his involvement with Galea.
On Monday the Yankees issued a statement distancing themselves from Galea. If Galea, who is known for plasma replacement therapy and is accused of selling an unapproved drug, treated Rodriguez without the Yankees’ permission, they could have an issue with their third baseman since they didn’t authorize Galea.
Galea’s connection with Rodriguez likely came about because chiropractor Mark Lindsay and Galea work together at Affinity Health in Toronto. Lindsay was recommended to supervise Rodriguez’s rehab program by Dr. Mark Philippon, who performed hip surgery on Rodriguez last spring.
