Giambi may be suspended

Commissioner Bud Selig is heading toward suspending Jason Giambi next week if the New York Yankees slugger does not cooperate with former senator George Mitchell's investigation on steroid use, according to a high-ranking MLB official.

The official, who talked with Selig but has not been granted permission to speak publicly because of ongoing talks, said Selig wants Giambi's decision by Tuesday.

Selig announced a week ago that Giambi could be spared disciplinary action for his comments about steroids to USA Today if he cooperated with Mitchell's investigation within two weeks. Giambi, who is on the disabled list, and his agent, Arn Tellem, have not said publicly whether he will meet with Mitchell, and Tellem did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Selig and Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Don Fehr also have not commented.

"Any admission regarding the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances, no matter how casual, must be taken seriously," Selig said in a written statement last week. "It is in the best interests of baseball for everyone, including players, to cooperate with Sen. Mitchell in his investigation so that Sen. Mitchell can provide me with a complete, thorough report."

MLB rules call for a 50-game suspension for testing positive for steroids or other illegal performance-enhancing drugs. But Giambi has not tested positive since the policy was implemented in 2005. The commissioner could also fine Giambi.

"I was wrong for doing that stuff," Giambi told USA Today last month. "What we should have done a long time ago was stand up — players, ownership, everybody — and said: 'We made a mistake."'

The players association has been in negotiations with MLB regarding Giambi talking with Mitchell and will file a grievance if the slugger is suspended, according to two high-ranking union officials. There's a possibility of a compromise in which Giambi would address only his testimony to a federal grand jury in 2003 investigating BALCO, one of the union officials said.

"We do not believe that grounds exist for disciplining Jason Giambi," general counsel Michael Weiner said last week.