![Yankees' Rodriguez runs to third base in the second inning of their MLB American League baseball game against the Red Sox in Boston New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez runs to third base in their MLB American League baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Boston, Massachusetts, August 18, 2013](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/alex-rodriguez-apology-yankees-mlb.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Alex Rodriguez apologized to New York Yankees top executives on Tuesday, ahead of his return to professional baseball after a yearlong suspension for steroid use.
The strain was created when Rodriguez, widely considered one of the top talents to ever play the game, was suspended for the 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) season as punishment for his role in the Biogenesis of America steroids scandal that ensnared the MLB in 2013.
In an effort to reverse the suspension, the three-time American League Most Valuable Player sued MLB, its players’ union and a Yankees team physician.
The Yankees and Rodriguez issued a joint statement on Tuesday.
“Alex initiated the meeting and apologized to the organization for his actions over the past several years,” the statement said. “There was an honest and frank discussion on all of the issues. As far as the Yankees are concerned, the next step is to play baseball in spring training.”
Rodriguez, who turns 40 in July, is set to make $61 million over the next three years, thanks to a 10-year $275 million contract he signed in 2007.
According to ESPN sources, Rodriguez will also apologize to the media prior to the start of spring training in late February.
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