Marlins to sign Miguel Tejada to minor league deal, pending physical

The Miami Marlins are close to signing a minor league deal with former six-time All-Star infielder, Miguel Tejada. The contract is contingent on Tejada passing a physical examination, per the Sun-Sentinel’s Juan C. Rodriguez.

This would be an opportunity for Tejada to make a return to the Major Leagues, after being suspended for 105 games after testing positive for amphetamines. Tejada was also suspended from the Dominican League’s Aguilas Cibaenas for buying shares of a rival team, the Gigantes del Cibao.

Tejada’s suspension is the third-longest non-lifetime ban in MLB history, with only Alex Rodriguez’s 165-game suspension for his alleged role in the Biogenesis scandal and Steve Howe’s 119-day suspension in 1992 for substance abuse garnering more games lost.

However, Tejada isn’t out of the woods with MLB just yet. Should he pass the physical, he’ll still have to sit out 65 games to complete his suspension, and if he were to fail yet another drug test, he would be receive a lifetime ban.

Tejada began his Major League career in 1997 with the Oakland Athletics, and spent time with seven different teams, last playing for the Kansas City Royals in 2013.