NEW YORK (CNN) -- Major League Baseball will probably move Monday to suspend New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez amid allegations involving the use of performance-enhancing drugs, two sources close to the decision told CNN on Sunday.
The length of the suspension was not known, nor was the timing of any announcement. A number of news outlets reported Sunday night the suspension will be for at least 214 games, meaning it would end in the 2015 season.
The 38-year-old slugger is accused of having ties with the now-shuttered Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in south Florida and taking performance-enhancing drugs. He has denied the accusation.
The Biogenesis scandal has already ensnared one star: 2011 National League MVP and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun. Last month, Braun was suspended without pay for the rest of this season for violating the league's drug policy, baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced.
Major League Baseball was negotiating with "A-Rod" last week about a deal for a lengthy suspension rather than a lifetime ban over the Biogenesis scandal, according to several outlets.
With Rodriguez on his way to Chicago for a Monday night game against the White Sox, however, the two sides may be in for a lengthy fight instead, said CNN's Rachel Nichols.
It could mean that the league will try to suspend Rodriguez and that his lawyers will file an injunction to try to stop it, Nichols says. Usually, suspensions related to drug offenses are made under the players' collective bargaining agreement, allowing suspended players to keep playing while their cases are being appealed.
Nichols said, however, "That's probably not going to be the case with A-Rod. We're expecting him to be suspended under the commissioner's powers, which means that he would not be able to play while he's doing an appeal, which is why the court system might get involved."
Rodriguez, recovering from an injury, is considered one of the game's greatest sluggers. He has 647 home runs -- the fifth most ever -- in 19 seasons. In 2009, he had an outstanding postseason in helping the Yankees win their most recent World Series title.
He holds the largest contract ever in American sports, signing with the Yankees in 2007 for $275 million over 10 years.
He has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, but he also has denied taking any after 2003. He has never been suspended by the league for a drug violation.