Report: A-Rod rejected lesser suspensions in discussions with MLB

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez rejected Major League Baseball's overtures of a suspension that would have been "way, way less" than the 211-game suspension recently handed down by the league.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported Sunday night the league discussed significantly lower penalties with Rodriguez for his role in the Biogenesis of America performance-enhancing-drug scandal. Back in April, the league even offered Rodriguez a 50-game suspension. But Rodriguez rejected a potential compromise while seeking to "mount a more aggressive fight," Rosenthal reported.

“At different points, it could have been way, way less than where it is now,” one source told Rosenthal.

MLB handed down Rodriguez's 211-game suspension Aug. 5. In the months before the suspension, numerous possibilities were rumored and reported, including everything from 50-game suspensions to lifetime bans from the game.

the Major League Baseball Players Association filed Rodriguez's appeal to the suspension