CLEARWATER, Fla. — Ryan Howard is not in the Phillies' lineup for a sixth straight day on Thursday, but his absence is not related to his recent bout with the flu bug that has swept camp.
Howard, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, is meeting with officials from Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations. The meeting comes after Howard was connected to the use of PEDs in a report by the Al Jazeera network in December.
Howard has denied the allegations in the strongest possible way — he is suing the network for defamation. His legal representation has called the allegations "outright lies" and Howard has attached the word "garbage" to them.
MLB’s investigation does not signal any wrongdoing by Howard. The investigations department routinely looks into any allegation made against a player. Depending on what the investigations department learns, Howard could be disciplined or the investigation could be dropped and become a non-matter.
Last month, Howard said he expected to speak with MLB officials.
“I haven't spoken to anybody as of yet,” he said in February. “I know, I guess there’s an investigation underway, so I'm sure that's probably going to take place.”
The Phillies said Howard was excused from camp for "personal reasons."