Brewers owner expects Ryan Braun to say ‘the right things’

The owner of the Milwaukee Brewers said Wednesday he expects suspended slugger Ryan Braun to do and say “the right things” to rehabilitate his image among fans.

Mark Attanasio, the Los Angeles-based owner of the team, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he had no intention to trade or release Braun.

Although Braun forfeited about $3.4 million by accepting a 65-game suspension Monday, the Brewers have guaranteed him another $127 million through 2020. They would remain obligated to pay that money if they released him.

Attanasion also said he expected Braun to speak publicly -- rather than limit his comments to a prepared statement -- once Major League Baseball has completed an investigation that is expected to result in more than a dozen suspensions for violations of baseball’s drug policy. Braun’s suspension was the first.

“He’s under contract with us,” Attanasio told the Journal Sentinel. “I know there’s been a lot of commentary on that. Right now, the full expectation is to keep him. And the full expectation that he’s going to do the right things, he’s going to say the right things, and he’s going to put in a lot of hard work to get back in folks’ good graces.

“And that’s going to take some time. It’s not like we’re going to be at opening day next year and we’re going to be through this. We are not going to be through this.

“There’s a lot of thoughts the last two days. We accepted his apology. He apologized again to me today. I also expressed the need for him to work to redeem himself. It’s going to take some time and take some work.”

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