Ortiz talks about trainer

The Red Sox slugger said he never was pushed toward steroids by Presinal.

Asked whether he knew about any involvement Presinal had with steroids, Ortiz said, "Those are things that are at another level.

"You've got to do what you've got to do. You've got to know what can cause you problems and you have to deal with that."

Presinal served as Rodriguez's personal trainer when A-Rod was a member of the Texas Rangers from 2001-03, a time when Rodriguez has admitted taking a performance-enhancing substance.

Rodriguez contends that his cousin supplied the drugs he used and that he stopped using them after leaving Texas. The New York Daily News reported that Presinal traveled with Rodriguez during the superstar's MVP season in 2007 with the Yankees, and that Presinal shared hotel rooms with the cousin in question.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Presinal has never been in the team's clubhouse or been affiliated with the team in any way.

Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003, when he and other players agreed to a confidential and anonymous survey. The agreement between the players' union and Major League Baseball was that if more than 5 percent of the players tested positive, penalties would be implemented for future positive tests. Almost 9 percent tested positive, but once the results were tabulated, they were to be destroyed. They weren't because the federal government stepped in and ordered the results be turned over.

Presinal, who was also the trainer for the Dominican team in the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, denied to ESPN Deportes that he ever advised any of his clients to take steroids.

"I've known him for a long time," said Ortiz. "All I know from him is how to keep our bodies ready - working out, teaching how to do the right exercises, and things like that.