Cruz Expected to Play Rest of Season

Nelson Cruz has arguably been the Texas Rangers' offensive MVP this season providing a consistent source of offense for a power-starved lineup through the season's first half.

Cruz, who was in his second All-Star Game on Tuesday night, is hitting .277 with 22 home runs and 69 RBIs this season and has taken kindly to hitting in the 3-hole, where he was moved when Lance Berkman's slump turned into a disturbing trend.

Of course, Cruz has also been linked to the ongoing Biogenesis investigation after having alleged involvement in the now-closed Miami PED clinic, along with several other MLB players.

There for a while, the talk on the street was that MLB would move swiftly and act to suspend the offenders soon after the All-Star break, which of course, ends this week. That would be bad news for the Rangers, who are already currently searching for an additional right-handed power bat and can't afford to lose arguably their best one.

The latest reports suggest the Rangers won't have to worry about this season with their free-agent-to-be, as it seems the suspensions won't be handed out until the season ends and Cruz is, theoretically, no longer a Ranger.

"It’s going to take some time, I don’t know about months, for the commissioner’s office to finish its investigation,” Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Michael Weiner said. “I would think, if we’re going to have cases that go to [appeal] hearings, we may have them as soon as September. It might be later than that."

Regardless of any hardline stance on alleged cheaters, and hypocritical or not, this has to be music to the ears of the Rangers and their fans, who can take some solace now in the suggestion that any punishment Cruz might face wouldn't be seen until next season.

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