Alex Rodriguez's cousin, Yuri Sucart, selling 2009 replica World Series ring

Alex Rodriguez is seen here showing off his 2009 World Series ring. His cousin, Yuri Sucart, is selling a replica Rodriguez had made for him. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Yuri Sucart, the cousin of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, is selling a 2009 World Series ring Rodriguez obtained for him through an online auctioneer, the New York Daily News' Michael O'Keefe reported Sunday.

Rodriguez said in 2009 that Sucart was the one who pushed him to use steroids earlier in his career, repeatedly injecting him with a substance from the Dominican Republic. After the Yankees won the World Series that season, Rodriguez gave him a diamond-studded ring as a gift.

O'Keefe reported that Sucart was "apparently tired of the notoriety that comes with being associated with Rodriguez," and he recently sold the ring to a South Florida collector who consigned it to auctioneer Ken Goldin and his company, Goldin Auctions. Goldin told the Daily News that the ring will have an opening bid of $5,000 and could go for as much as $40,000.

Rodriguez is currently rehabbing from offseason hip surgery that will sideline him until at least the All-Star break. His spokesman, Terry Fahn, told ESPN.com's Wallace Matthews that Sucart's ring was one of many replicas he had made for friends and family:

"Alex Rodriguez made numerous replica World Series rings for friends and family. He didn't know that Yuri Sucart was selling one of them."