The names of nine former members of the Philadelphia Phillies were included in the Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball released today by former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell.

No current Phillies players were named in the report.

The former Phillies players whose names appeared in the report are: David Bell, Gary Bennett, Jr., Paul Byrd, Lenny Dykstra, Ryan Franklin, Jeremy Giambi, Jason Grimsley, Todd Pratt and Benito Santiago.

David Bell played third base for the Phillies from 2003-2006. The Mitchell Report cites a March 6, 2007 article in Sports Illustrated which reported that Bell reportedly purchased six packages of human chorionic gonadatropin (“HCG”) from Applied Pharmacy Services of Mobile, Alabama in April 2005 while he was playing for the Phillies. According to the Mitchell report, "HCG is a hormone that is produced during pregnancy; it is used by steroid abusers to counteract the effects of steroid use on the body’s natural production of testosterone.463." The report also indicates that "The Sports Illustrated article reported that Bell acknowledged to reporters that he received the drugs but explained that he had received a prescription for them “for a medical condition” that he refused to identify, citing medical privacy laws."

Gary Bennett, Jr. was signed by the Phillies and served as backup catcher for portions of the 1995-2001 seasons. The Mitchell Report does not mention any steroid use during his tenure with the Phillies.

Paul Byrd pitched for the Phillies from 1998-2001. The Mitchell Report does not document any use of steroids by Byrd either before or during his tenure with the Phillies.

Lenny Dykstra played with the Phillies from 1989-1996. Dykstra's use of steroids during his career has been long a source of speculation. The Mitchell Report documents that in 2000 Dykstra and his doctor "met with senior vice president for security Kevin M. Hallinan, his deputy Martin Maguire, and then-executive vice president for baseball operations Sandy Alderson met with Dykstra and his doctor in an attempt to increase their understanding of steroids."

Ryan Franklin pitched for the Phillies for a part of the 2006 season. On August 2, 2005, while pitching for the Seattle Mariners, Franklin was suspended for ten games for a positive test for anabolic steroids that was conducted in May 2005. The report does not mention any steroid use during his tenure with the Phillies.

Jeremy Giambi played for the Phillies for a portion of the 2002 season. The Mitchell Report does not document any specific steroid use during Giambi's tenure with the Phillies, however, it does report that "on March 12, 2005, Jeremy Giambi admitted to the Kansas City Star that he used steroids while playing in Major League Baseball. 'It’s something I did,' Giambi told the newspaper. 'I apologize. I made a mistake. I moved on. I kind of want it in the past.'"

Jason Grimsley pitched for the Phillies at the beginning of his career from 1989-1991. The report does not reflect any use of steroids by Grimsley during this period.

Todd Pratt was the backup catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies for two stretches during his career, from 1992-1994 and again from 2001-2006. The Mitchell Report outlines steroid use by Pratt during his tenure with the New York Mets during 2000 or 2001 and undocumented use prior to those dates. There is no indication in the report of steroid use while Pratt played for the Phillies.

Benito Santiago was the Phillies starting catcher in 1996. Santiago is widely discussed in the Mitchell Report and, while his alleged steroid use makes for one of the more interesting stories, all of the alleged incidents occurred in 2003, well after his tenure with the Phillies.

You can read the entire 409 page Mitchell Report on Philly.com's website. Note: this is a large .pdf file which may take some time to load.