Reports: MLB to Suspend 20 Players Connected to Biogenesis Lab – is Tigers’ Jhonny Peralta One?

May 27, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta (27) hits an RBI single in the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

According to a tweet by ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, Major League baseball is preparing to suspend 20 players who’s names surfaced in connection with Biogenesis, the Miami clinic who allegedly supplied baseball players with performance enhancing drugs.

We only have indication of two prominant names here — Alex Rodrigues and Ryan Braun — but Johnny Peralta’s name was one that surfaced back in February as well.

The Tigers have very limited options at shortstop if Peralta is hit with a lengthy suspension. Among players currently on the 25-man roster, only Ramon Santiago is really capable of playing the position (Omar Infante could fill in in a pinch, but that hardly helps the situation). Danny Worth would otherwise be the no-brainer callup, but he’s been on the disabled list in Toledo for more than a month now. The only other players on the 40-man roster with middle infield capabilities are Erie second baseman Hernan Perez — who got a couple game cup of coffee last year as an emergency fill-in — and Lakeland shortstop Dixon Machado.

Further tweets suggest that not all players with a reported connection will get a suspension. Quinn reports that Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez will not be implicated with banned substances. So Jhonny’s name being linked doesn’t make it automatic that he’ll get suspended.

Obviously we’ll have to wait for further reports to sort through the mess. For what it’s worth, the freshly pressed ESPN.com story lists Peralta as a possible suspension candidate:

"The players who might ultimately face discipline from MLB include: Rodriguez, Braun, Cabrera, Colon, Grandal, Nelson Cruz, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero, Jhonny Peralta, CesarPuello, Fernando Martinez, Everth Cabrera, Fautini de los Santos, Jordan Norberto, and a number of players who are either identified by code names or whose names appear in other documents not obtained by “Outside the Lines.”"