Guillen can play on opening day

Royals outfielder José Guillen’s suspension has been put on hold for 10 days, allowing him to play Monday in Kansas City’s season-opening game at Detroit.

Guillen and Baltimore’s Jay Gibbons were each suspended for 15 days by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig on Dec. 6, following media reports linking them to performance-enhancing drugs. But Guillen and Gibbons were each given the 10-day stay while lawyers for players and owners try to reach an agreement that toughens their drug rules.

The 15-day suspensions were to start Sunday, when the U.S. portion of the major-league season begins.

Negotiators are close to an agreement that would call for more frequent drug testing and would strengthen the authority of the independent program administrator. If there is an agreement, the suspensions of Gibbons and Guillen most likely would be eliminated as part of an overall amnesty for players implicated in the Mitchell Report.

The suspensions would start April 9 if an agreement isn’t reach and no other actions are taken. The Royals’ home opener is April 8 against the Yankees.

Guillen was connected to the purchase of $19,000 worth of steroids and human growth hormone but has always denied taking banned substances and had appealed the suspension.