Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday he plans to finish his investigation of the Boston Red Sox’s role in the alleged electronic sign-stealing scandal before the opening of spring training on Wednesday.
Just like in the investigation of the Houston Astros, Manfred, attending an owners meeting in Orlando, Fla., said his ruling will not include punishment on any Red Sox players, but left the door open for that possibility if future violations are discovered.
“We have the right to discipline players right now. I’m absolutely convinced of that fact,” Manfred said, via ESPN. “We made a decision in the Houston investigation that in order for us to get the facts that we needed, somebody had to get immunity.”
Astros owner Jim Crane fired manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow in January after both received one-year suspensions from MLB in the sign-stealing scandal.
The Red Sox are under investigation for alleged sign-stealing infractions in 2018, when they went on to win the World Series under first-year manager Joey Cora, who has since been dismissed by the organization.
Manfred also disclosed Thursday that MLB plans to adopt new guidelines for the use of real-time video during games in 2020 in order to discourage improper behavior.
“I think you should assume that before the season starts we will have new guidelines with respect to the use of video equipment,” Manfred said. “I think we have too much video available in real time right now.”