A-Rod World Series ring being auctioned a replica

The 2009 World Series ring that the cousin of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is selling is a replica, ESPN New York reported Monday.

Yuri Sucart, whom Rodriguez named as helping him use performance-enhancing drugs when he made his admission in 2009, sold the championship ring that Rodriguez gave him as a gift to auctioneer Ken Goldin for an undisclosed amount.

Goldin listed the ring at $5,000 as an opening bid on Goldinauctions.com on Monday.

Goldin told the New York Daily News on Friday that he expects the ring to sell for up to $40,000 because it is associated with Rodriguez.

However, Rodriguez never owned or wore the ring.

"Alex Rodriguez made numerous replica World Series rings for friends and family," Rodriguez's spokesman Terry Fahn said. "He didn't know that Yuri Sucart was selling one of them."

The Yankees banned Sucart from the team's facilities in 2009 after Rodriguez's PED admission.