New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is suspended for the entire 2014 season as a result of a drug investigation by Major League Baseball, an arbitrator ruled Saturday, Jan. 11.

The decision by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz cut the suspension issued Aug. 5 by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig from 211 games to this year's entire 162-game regular-season schedule plus any postseason games, according to The Associated Press. The three-time American League Most Valuable Player will lose just over $22 million of his $25 million salary. Baseball's drug rules, first agreed to in 2002, allows the 38-year-old to still participate in spring training and play in exhibition games.

Rodriguez has officially received the most severe punishment in the history of baseball's drug agreement, The AP noted.

His penalty is more than double the previous ruling for a PED suspension: a 100-game ban given in 2013 to San Francisco pitcher Guillermo Mota for a second offense. Kansas City infielder Miguel Tejada was given a 105-game ban last summer following a third positive test for amphetamines.

Rodriguez plans to fight the rulling in federal court. He accused the MLB of putting forth a "lack of credible evidence."

"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," Rodriguez said in a statement. "This is one man's decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable."

He admitted five years ago he used performance-enhancing drugs while with Texas from 2001-03 but has denied using them since.

"I have been clear that I did not use performance-enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court."

The 14-time All-Star is signed with the Yankees through the 2017 season, but with the new penalty he cannot return to the field until 2015.

He sued MLB and Selig in October, claiming they are engaged in a "witch hunt" against him. 

Horowitz, who became the sport's independent arbitrator in 2012, ruled that Rodriguez is entitled to 21-183rds (about 11.5 percent) of his salary this year, a person familiar with the decision told The AP speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision was not made public. That comes to $2,868,852.46.

MLB supported the ruling.

"While we believe the original 211-game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the panel and will focus on our continuing efforts on eliminating performance-enhancing substances from our game," MLB said in a statement.

The union said it "strongly disagrees" with the ruling but added, "We respect the collectively-bargained arbitration process which led to the decision."

A-Rod's drug penalty was for "his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone over the course of multiple years," MLB said last summer. His punishment under the labor contract was "for attempting to cover up his violations of the program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the office of the commissioner's investigation." 

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