New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez could return from a hip injury in as few as 10 days.
But he is already back in the headlines.
More details from Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts' book "A-Rod" were released Wednesday by the New York Daily News. The book alleges Rodriguez did not stop using steroids when he was traded to the Yankees in 2004, and he might have been using as far back as high school, the Daily News reports.
Rodriguez has admitted to using performance-enhancers while with the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003, but insists he stopped when he was dealt to New York.
Roberts broke the story that A-Rod failed a steroid test in 2003. Yankees teammates, Roberts writes, nicknamed Rodriguez "B---h T--s" in 2005 because he put on 15 pounds in the offseason that resulted in round pectorals, a condition called gynecomastia that can be caused by anabolic steroids.
Rodriguez was not available for comment Thursday morning. He played in an extended spring training intrasquad game Thursday in Tampa, Fla., and hit a home run in his fifth at-bat. His final numbers for the session: 1-for-6, 1 HR and 2 walks.
Roberts' book also details Rodriguez's relationship with Dominican trainer Angel Presinal, who is banned from major league clubhouses. The Daily News does not say how it obtained a copy of the HarperCollins book, which was scheduled to be released May 12.
A HarperCollins spokesperson said Thursday that the release date has been moved up to May 4.
Roberts, during an interview on Dan Patrick's syndicated radio show Thursday, said sources told her after Rodriguez's spring training news conference -- in which he apologized to his Yankees teammates -- that Rodriguez was not entirely truthful at that media session.
"Sources came to me and said there were some things he said during his press conference that just didn't jive," Roberts said on the radio show.
Jose Canseco, a former teammate of Rodriguez, said in Roberts' book that he believes Rodriguez has been using steroids since high school.
"Was he on steroids in high school?" Canseco said in the book, the Daily News reported. "I think probably so. I worked out with him when he was 18. He could lift almost as much as I could."
Rodriguez put on 25 pounds of muscle between his sophomore and junior years. Former high school teammates told Roberts that A-Rod was using steroids back then and his coach knew it -- an allegation the coach, Rich Hoffman, denied.
On Patrick's radio interview, Roberts said that based on the sudden improvement in his bench press (from 100 to 310) in just six months in high school, and "in conjunction with the reporting that I did with [his high school] teammates would make it irrefutable to me, not a 'may have,' " that Rodriguez took performance-enhancing drugs in high school.
Other allegations in Roberts' book, according to the Daily News:
• A-Rod "pitch tipped" when he played for the Rangers by letting opponents at the plate know which pitch was coming in lopsided games. A-Rod expected players he helped would reciprocate when he was having an off night and needed to get his batting average up.
• A-Rod's off-the-field antics including his poker habit; his divorce from his wife, Cynthia; his relationship with Madonna; and his other affairs are detailed.
However, Roberts said on the radio show that she did not address those elements. "I never wrote anything about his bedroom life," Roberts told Patrick. "That was pure speculation on other people's part."
• A-Rod was hated at Hooters, where he tipped the minimum 15 percent.
Rodriguez hit in a simulated game for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, facing minor league pitchers Christian Garcia and Kai Liu, a left-hander from China the Yankees signed two years ago.
Rodriguez slid five times on a sliding mat for the second time, ran the bases and took 112 swings in regular batting practice.
Dr. Marc Philippon watched the three-time AL MVP's on-field workout Wednesday at the Yankees' minor league complex and said Rodriguez could return to the majors ahead of his May 15 target date.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.