Wednesday, April 22nd Commissioner Rob Manfred handed down his findings and discipline regarding the MLB investigation into the Red Sox sign-stealing investigation.
This is in response to the findings in the Houston Astros Sign stealing report.
Below are some excerpts from the Executive Summary and Discipline sections, in addition to the full report.
Executive Report
The MLB Commissioner found that Red Sox video replay system operator J.T. Watkins, on at least some occasions during the 2018 regular season, utilized the game feeds in the replay room, in violation of MLB regulations, to revise sign sequence information that he had permissibly provided to players prior to the game, unlike the Houston Astros; 2017 conduct, in which players communicated to the batter from the dugout area in real time the precise type of pitch about to be thrown, Watkins conduct, by its very nature, was far more limited in scope and impact.
The information was only relevant when the Red Sox had a runner on second base (which was 19.7% of plate appearances leaguewide in 2018), and Watkins communicated sign sequences in a manner that indicated that he had decoded them from the in-game feed in only a small percentage of those occurrences then-manager Alex Cora, the Red Sox coaching staff, the Red Sox front office, or most of the players on the 2018 Red Sox knew or should have known that Watkins was utilizing in-game video to update the information that he had learned from his pregame analysis.
Communication of these violations was episodic and isolated to Watkins and a limited number of Red Sox players only.
Discipline
Watkins is suspended without pay for the 2020 season and 2020 Postseason and prohibited from serving as a replay room operator for the 2021 season and 2021 Postseason. No other Red Sox personnel will be disciplined.
Although the Commissioner’s Office agreed not to discipline players who were truthful in their interviews, based on the findings of the investigation, this is not a case in which I would have otherwise considered imposing discipline on players.
The Red Sox must be held accountable, particularly since the Club may have benefited from Watkins’s conduct. As a result, I have determined that the Red Sox shall forfeit their second-round selection in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft.
