Sources: A-Rod to meet with MLB on Friday

Alex Rodriguez is scheduled to be interviewed Friday by Major League Baseball as a prelude to his testifying at the appeal of his 211-game suspension in the Biogenesis probe, sources said Wednesday. The meeting is to take place at the Manhattan offices of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

The investigatory interview is mandated by a provision in the collective bargaining agreement, and while Rodriguez will not be required to give sworn testimony, sources said his answers could bolster MLB's case against him if it is determined he is not being truthful. Rodriguez previously has been interviewed by MLB in connection with the Biogenesis probe but did not answer questions, sources said.

Rodriguez is expected to be principally questioned by Dan Halem, MLB's senior vice president and general counsel who has been in attendance at all eight arbitration sessions. Rodriguez is entitled to have representation at the interview and lead attorney Joe Tacopina is likely to attend.

The MLBPA declined to comment on the proceeding.

Rodriguez was levied the unprecedented suspension after MLB linked the Yankees third baseman to receiving performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch, who ran the now-shuttered anti-aging clinic in Miami. MLB concluded that Rodriguez used "numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone, over the course of multiple years."

Rodriguez's attorneys have denied he used PEDs covering the period probed by MLB, and on Monday a source said Rodriguez is ready "to take the stand and say he didn't do it," when his hearing resumes next week before chief arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. The hearing is expected to end before Thanksgiving.