The FBI and Justice Department are in the midst of an investigation of St. Louis Cardinals team officials for what Major League Baseball termed as an illegal breach of the Houston Astros’ baseball operations database.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Major League Baseball “has been aware of and has fully cooperated with the federal investigation into the illegal breach of the Astros’ baseball operations database,” a spokesman for baseball’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, said in a written statement to the Times.
The Times reported that internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports were compromised. The breach is believed by law enforcement to be a vengeful plot against Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, who previously worked in personnel for the Cardinals. He was hired in 2011 to take over one of the worst team’s in baseball. And while considered unconventional, his approach helped restock the Houston minor-league system. The Astros are in first place in the American League West, but were division rivals of the Cardinals until moving leagues in 2014.
Officials under investigation from the Cardinals are not suspended and the government investigation will likely determine next steps for the team and MLB.