Major League Baseball has suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for the 2020 season as part of the penalties for the investigation into alleged electronic-sign stealing. An MLB investigation found the team used technology to cheat during its World Series-winning 2017 season, it was announced Monday. The Astros were also tripped of its first- and second-round picks in both the 2020 and 2021 drafts and fined $5 million.
MLB said in its statement that if Luhnow or Hinch “engage in any future material violations” of MLB rules, they will be placed on the league’s permanently ineligible list. No players were disciplined by MLB in the investigation. While Mets manager Carlos Beltran was part of the investigation, he was a player at the time and thus was not suspended.
Discipline for Red Sox manager Alex Cora is expected; Cora was the Astros’ bench coach during the 2017 season. Cora is identified throughout MLB’s report as the ringleader along with Beltran. Commissioner Rob Manfred said that discipline for Cora will be announced at the completion of its investigation into the Red Sox’s alleged use of the video replay room to steal signs during the 2018 season.
