Major League Baseball is investigating the Boston Red Sox over an alleged sign-stealing scheme that has been compared to the one the Houston Astros were found guilty of implementing in 2017, but the two situations may not be as similar as many believe.
According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, the investigation into the Red Sox is nearing its conclusion and has found “far less serious” violations than the Astros probe.
That could mean less serious sanctions are coming for Boston. The Astros were fined $5 million, and both manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for a year. Houston fired Hinch and Luhnow. Alex Cora was a bench coach with the Astros when they were illegally stealing signs in 2017, and both Luhnow and MLB’s report made Cora sound like the mastermind behind the operation. Cora was not suspended since MLB wanted to wait until the Red Sox investigation was complete, but Boston still parted ways with its former manager.
The Red Sox have been accused of illegally using the video replay room to help steal signs, and apparently they were not the only team that did that. The biggest question will likely be whether or not they continued to do it after MLB made it clear to teams that it was not allowed.
Like with the Houston investigation, all indications have been that no Red Sox players will face discipline. Based on Heyman’s report, it sounds like the sanctions for the team could be far less serious overall.
More must-reads: