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.”

Alex Avila will not start in tonight’s pivotal Game 4 of the World Series. (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila will not start behind home plate in tonight’s do-or-die Game for of the World Series, Tigers Manager Jim Leyland told reporters.

The catcher has been struggling with a sore right arm since being dinged by a foul tip in the San Francisco Giants’ 8-3 victory in the first game of the series. Gerald Laird will fill in for Avila in the lineup, but neither has had much success against the Giants so far in the World Series. Avila is 1 for 7 in the three games, while Laird has gone 0 for 3.

The Giants will win the world Series in a sweep if they top the Tigers tonight.

The New York Yankees jersey Don Larsen wore when he pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series is going up for auction in the fall. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history in 1956 and now the Yankees jersey he wore during that historic moment is going up for auction in the fall, according to AP Sports via NBCSports.com:

They say a bidding war is expected for the one-of-a-kind jersey. In May, a jersey worn by Babe Ruth sold for more than $4.4 million. [L]arsen, now 82, says the game is the best thing that ever happened to him.

Information about the auction was posted on Thursday to the website for Steiner Sports Memorabilia:

On the heels of the Babe Ruth uniform selling for a record $4.4 million dollars it has been announced that Don Larsen and Andrew Levy of Wish You Were Here Productions have consigned the full game-used uniform from the 1956 World Series Game 5 perfect game to New York based Steiner Sports. [O]ctober 8, 2012 will mark the 56th anniversary of Don Larsen’s 1956 perfect game. Steinersports.com will have a 56 day auction featuring the game used uniform.

Larsen’s perfect game came during Game 5 of the 1956 World Series at Yankee Stadium. Larsen and the Yankees won the game against the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 and went on to win the World Series in seven games.