Report: MLB doping report due shortly

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The investigation of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball by former Sen. George Mitchell is due two weeks before Christmas, a report said.

The San Francisco Chronicle quoted two unidentified sources as saying the report will name players who used such substances as anabolic steroids and human growth hormone.

Mitchell, D-Maine, has been leading the investigation for the past 20 months.

Monday, baseball's lead lawyer, Rob Manfred, gave damage control advice to the 30 teams' public relations employees, the Chronicle said. Manfred reportedly instructed the teams to avoid making any public comments about individual players.

The timing of the release will mean teams could make trades during the winter meetings, and then learn a free agent they just signed faces possible discipline by Major League Baseball for past use of banned substances, ESPN said.