Bergen Doctor at Center of A-Rod Circus

A Bergen County orthopedic surgeon who took to the airwaves Wednesday saying his review of Alex Rodriguez's MRI revealed no injury was recently fined $40,000 after a staffer at his "wellness center" was found to have distributed steroids to patients without a license to practice medicine in New Jersey.

Major League Baseball is now investigating possible links between the beleaguered slugger and Hackensack-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Gross, sources tell the New York Daily News.

The Yankees placed the scandal-plagued third-baseman on the 15-day disabled list Sunday after its medical staff determined a Grade 1 strain to his left quadricep. But Dr. Gross, the director of sports medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, told WFAN that he saw no signs of injury upon viewing the MRI scan.

"I looked at his MRI and I didn’t see anything significant," he later told The Record, adding that he did not examine A-Rod and only viewed the MRI on a desktop monitor. "[That] doesn’t mean there’s not an injury there."

According to a statement released by Yankees GM Brian Cashman, A-Rod never told the Yankees he was getting a second medical opinion.

Cashman said Rodriguez told him he felt "tightness" in the quad on Friday, July 12, the same day he and his attorneys met with MLB to discuss the ongoing investigation into his alleged connection with Miami-based steroid lab Biogensis. 

Citing anonymous sources, The New York Daily News is reporting that the Yankees don't believe Dr. Gross even saw Rodriguez's MRI scan. The paper's source claims the scan was not released by New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Rodriguez's days in baseball could be numbered, reports say. Multiple news outlets have reported that Major League Baseball is seeking to hand down a potential lifetime ban to Rodriguez for his alleged involvement in the Biogensis performance enhancing drugs (PED) scandal.

His connection to Dr. Gross – who told media outlets that he had "no agenda" and was simply asked to review the scan by a mutual friend – likely won't help shake talk of his alleged juicing.

In February, the New Jersey state medical board found an employee of Dr. Gross's Hackensack-based wellness center prescribed hormones, including steroids, to patients without a medical license in New Jersey. The employee had, however, completed medical school. The board also determined there was inadequate supervision of patients at Active Center for Wellness LLC.

In an interview with the NY Daily News, Dr. Gross called the reprimand "a closed matter" that has "nothing to do with" Rodriguez.

"I really don't think it's germane to this," he said. "(Rodriguez) has never been a patient here. He's never been treated here. We don't prescribe anabolic steroids. We never have. We prescribe what's called bio-identical hormones, for men with low testosterone, like what you see on television all the time. We prescribe testosterone."

Anthony Bosch, the head of Biogensis, reportedly sold testosterone troches – lozenges – to players.

Brewers star Ryan Braun, the other central target of MLB's Biogensis probe, admitted to using PEDs Monday and was suspended without pay for the remainder of 2013.

The Yankees third baseman, making $28 million this year with $100 million still owed on his contract, has yet to play a game in a Yankee uniform this season. Rodriguez told reporters on Wednesday that he was "feeling great".

Calls to Dr. Gross's office were not immediately returned Wednesday night.