MLB, union agree to changes in drug rules

Major League Baseball and its players’ association decided there will be no written decision in the case overturning Ryan Braun’s drug suspension, while also changing the rules that allowed the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder to get his 50-game penalty thrown out.

MLB and the union announced changes to their drug-testing agreement Thursday in the wake of the Feb. 23 decision by arbitrator Shyam Das to overturn the suspension that followed a positive test by Braun, the N.L. MVP.

As part of the deal, the sides agreed privately that Das will not issue a written opinion in the case, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sides’ decision not to announce the lack of a written decision.

Braun’s side argued his urine sample was handled improperly because the drug collector kept it at home from Saturday, Oct. 1, until the following Monday, when he took it to a Federal Express office for shipment to the testing laboratory outside Montreal. The drug policy stated that the sample was to have been delivered to FedEx immediately.

Das overturned the suspension and was to give a written opinion within 30 days, but the sides asked him to hold off. Management fired Das last month and replaced him this week with Fredric Horowitz, a veteran of baseball and NHL salary arbitration cases.

The sides agreed to several changes in the drug agreement.

The new agreement specifies that “absent unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are collected.”

The new agreement contains language that says the suspension should be upheld by the arbitrator if the commissioner’s office demonstrates “the deviation was authorized” by the parties or the Independent Program Administrator, or if “the deviation did not affect the accuracy or reliability of the test result.”

Clearing the bases

Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was released from a New York hospital, three days after suffering a mild heart attack. … … Bob Wolfe, who worked with new Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten with the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, joined Los Angeles as executive vice president. … Carlos Correa, taken by Houston with the top pick in this week’s amateur draft, agreed to a contract with the Astros for a signing bonus of $4.8 million. … The Texas Rangers placed left-hander Derek Holland on the 15-day disabled list because of a fatigued left shoulder.