Baseball

Arbitrator George Nicolau said he will decide Friday whether to shorten Otis Nixon’s suspension from 60 days to 42 days, time already served. Nicolau was given the case on Tuesday, the fifth day of the grievance hearing.

Nixon was suspended for 60 days by Commissioner Fay Vincent Sept. 16 after testing positive for cocaine. Nixon, who played for the Atlanta Braves last season and then became a free agent, missed the final three weeks of the season, the playoffs and World Series.