Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman cleared in probe of PED report

Major League Baseball has cleared Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of any wrongdoing in its investigation of an Al Jazeera report on performance-enhancing drugs, saying that neither player violated the sport's drug program.

MLB announced Friday that it has completed its investigation, which "did not find any violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by either Howard or Zimmerman."

Al Jazeera reported in a December documentary that Howard and Zimmerman, along with several other professional athletes, allegedly received shipments of performance-enhancing drugs.

The Al Jazeera report was based on secret recordings of former Indianapolis anti-aging institute worker Charles Sly, who named Zimmerman and other high-profile athletes as having received steroid-like Delta-2 hormone supplement shipments from him while he worked at the Guyer Institute.

Howard and Zimmerman filed lawsuits against Al Jazeera in January, claiming that the report contained false statements and was inaccurate, unsubstantiated and reckless.

Howard and Zimmerman both "fully cooperated" with baseball's investigation, but Sly did not agree to speak with MLB or provide requested information, according to Friday's statement.