Biogenesis a topic of day at players' meeting

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - One of the topics that was addressed in the annual Astros players' meeting with executives from the Major League Baseball Players Association on Friday was the allegations surrounding Biogenesis, the Miami-based clinic that is under investigation for reportedly providing performance-enhancing drugs to players.

Astros outfielder Fernando Martinez is among several that have been reported by ESPN to have been on documents obtained from the clinic that list them as receiving PEDs. The report says the documents are not proof the players received or used PEDs

MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner said Biogenesis was "an issue of the day."

"There's a process that's going to have to be followed," Weiner said. "We've been chatting with the players whose names have surfaced. The Commissioner's Office has the right to interview them, and that will happen soon, but in due time. If there's evidence of wrongdoing, we'll get to the bottom of it and we'll get to the bottom of it jointly. That's the way the program works."

Tony Clark, the MLBPA's director of player relations, says players were reminded that there is a strong drug-testing program in place, and those that violate its terms will be caught.

"Unfortunately, we continue to have that discussion, and unfortunately guys are finding themselves in tough spots. We hope, as we educate guys going forward, they'll be in position to make better decisions," he said.

With Jed Lowrie gone to Oakland, catcher Jason Castro and outfielder Justin Maxwell are the team's player reps to the union.

"I always like the opportunity to listen to [Weiner] and talk to him whenever I can," Castro said. "He's very intelligent, very knowledgeable and has been around the game a long time. You hear about stuff in the media, but to hear it behind the scenes and what the inner-workings are, it's a different perspective. The meeting went great, and it was nice to see that everyone had a lot of questions."