Red Sox, Alex Cora part ways over sign-stealing scandal

The fallout from Major League Baseball’s sign-stealing scandal continues. In a move telegraphed yesterday, the Red Sox have parted ways with manager Alex Cora. The club announced that the separation was mutual, but the organization essentially had no choice.

In their report on the Astros’ sign-stealing during the 2017 season, the Commissioner’s Office heavily implicated Cora, who was then Houston’s bench coach. Cora’s name was mentioned 11 times in the nine-page report, and Rob Manfred summed up his action’s in this summary:

Cora was involved in developing both the banging scheme and utilizing the replay review room to decode and transmit signs. Cora participated in both schemes, and through his active participation, implicitly condoned the players’ conduct. I will withhold determining the appropriate level of discipline for Cora until after the DOI completes its investigation of the allegations that the Red Sox engaged in impermissible electronic sign stealing in 2018 while Cora was the manager.

Just yesterday, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch received one-year suspensions. They were both subsequently fired. An official punishment has yet to come down for Cora, but one could expect it to be harsher than what Luhnow and Hinch received. He played an active role in the scheme and is under investigation with two different teams. MLB might throw the book at him.

This is a developing story. Pinstripe Alley will have more updates as they become available.