Major League Baseball says Ryan Howard did nothing wrong

The seven-month investigation by Major League Baseball into a report that linked Ryan Howard to performance-enhancing drug use found no violations, officials said Friday.

Howard "fully cooperated," MLB officials said, during its "thorough investigation."

"I am glad that this part of the process has concluded," Howard said in a statement released by his agent, "and I look forward to holding the responsible people accountable for these false and defamatory claims in my ongoing litigation against Al Jazeera and its reporters."

Howard faced a possible suspension when the league began its inquiry before spring training. But he met in March with MLB investigators, who spent months verifying the players' denials.

The Phillies first baseman in January filed his defamation suit, which is still in litigation. He said he was "shocked and outraged" by the claims.

"We believe Al Jazeera deliberately ignored the fact and relied upon people they knew to be unreliable to report the story for its sensationalist value," said William Burck, Howard's attorney, in a statement Friday. "Al Jazeera didn't care about the truth or the harm they caused by broadcasting their false story."

Howard, 36, is owed a little more than $16 million on the remainder of his contract, which will expire after the season when the Phillies decline his 2017 option.