Cano surprised by report of link to Biogenesis

ST. PETERSBURG -- Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano said on Monday that he was surprised to hear of an ESPN report that linked a spokesperson for his foundation to the ongoing investigation into the Biogenesis clinic.

According to the report, Sonia Cruz is listed as having been a client of the Biogenesis clinic last summer. She denies having received anything from the clinic and told ESPN that Cano "definitely never did."

"I'm going to play my game," Cano said before the Yankees' series opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field. "I'm going to play it every single day. It doesn't bother me, and I don't have any comment about it."

According to the ESPN report, Major League Baseball is investigating whether Cano had any relationship to the Biogenesis clinic. Cano has repeatedly and strongly denied any involvement.

The names of two other Yankees, Alex Rodriguez and Francisco Cervelli, are alleged to have turned up on documents from the now-shuttered South Florida business, as well as that of Cano's close friend and former teammate Melky Cabrera.

Cano said that Cruz continues to be the spokesperson for his foundation but again denied any link to Biogenesis, saying, "I don't even know where that is."

Cruz told ESPN she was never a client of the Miami-area clinic, but records obtained by the network showed her as owing $300 for the months of July and August 2012.

According to the report, which cited two former associates of clinic founder Anthony Bosch, that figure would have been consistent with a weight-loss regimen and not performance-enhancing drugs. Cano said that he was not bothered by the report.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that the team is letting MLB handle all aspects of the investigation. Girardi said that he does not expect the episode to distract Cano, who was also falsely accused of failing a performance-enhancing drug test by an erroneous report on Twitter last season.

"I hope it wouldn't be," Girardi said. "He has had to deal with a tweet last year, there's been people talking about his contract -- is that a distraction? He has looked pretty good to me. I think he's pretty good at handling things. When he gets to the field, I think he's all business."

Cano entered Monday's game batting .417 (20-for-48) with five homers and 13 RBIs in 11 games since April 8, raising his season average to .324. He said that he was not bothered by the report.

"I know what I'm doing and I know myself," Cano said. "It doesn't bother me. There's nothing else I can say about it because I don't even know about the stories."