Giambi's reported steroid use admission could affect Yanks' deal

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jason Giambi's reported testimony that he used steroids might jeopardize his $120 million contract with the New York Yankees and allow baseball commissioner Bud Selig to discipline him.

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Giambi said he injected himself with human growth hormone in 2003 and used steroids for at least three seasons, according to a grand jury transcript reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.

His testimony last December, before a federal grand jury investigating illegal steroid distribution, contradicts his public proclamations that he never used performance-enhancing drugs.

Penalties for steroid use in baseball began in 2003, but testing that identified players didn't start until the next season. Human growth hormone, or hGH, is not specifically banned by the major leagues.

While discipline is spelled out for positive tests and criminal convictions, admission of steroid use is not addressed, possibly giving Selig an opening to punish Giambi. Even so, baseball can't test him more than other players because it's been over a year since the steroid use.

Jason Giambi struggled with injury and illness in 2004, playing just 80 games and hitting .208 for the Yankees. (Getty Images)

"I've been saying for many months: I instituted a very, very tough program in the minor leagues on steroids in 2001. We need to have that program at the major-league level," Selig said Thursday in Washington, D.C. "We're going to leave no stone unturned until we have that policy in place by spring training 2005."

Giambi, the 2000 American League MVP with Oakland, signed a seven-year contract with the Yankees before the 2002 season, the sixth-highest deal in baseball history.

Bothered by an injured knee, Giambi hit just .250 in 2003. He batted .208 and played in only 80 games last season, missing time because of a sprained right ankle, fatigue and a benign tumor, which the New York Daily News reported was in his pituitary gland. The Yankees did not even include him on their postseason roster.

Giambi reportedly testified that one of the drugs he thought he used was Clomid, a female fertility drug that some medical experts say can exacerbate a pituitary tumor.

Giambi's agent, Arn Tellem, didn't return telephone calls seeking comment.

New York still owes Giambi $82 million, but the Yankees might be able to get out of the deal.