Sign-stealing scandal: MLB suspends Red Sox replay operator, strips draft pick from team

J.T. Watkins, who was the Red Sox video replay system operator in 2018, was suspended for a year without pay, MLB.com reported.

Cora was suspended for his role as the Houston Astros bench coach in 2017, when the team won the World Series but was found to have stolen signs.

Manfred, in his 15-page report, wrote he did not believe Cora was aware of Watkins’ actions.

“No other member of the 2018 Red Sox staff will be disciplined because I do not find that anyone was aware of or should have been aware of Watkins’s conduct,” Manfred wrote in his report. “The club’s front office took more than reasonable steps to ensure that its employees, including Watkins, adhered to the rules. Notwithstanding these good faith efforts to comply with the rules, however, the Red Sox organization ultimately is responsible for the conduct of a member of its advance scouting staff.”

Manfred said Watkins used game feeds in the replay room -- a violation of major league rules -- to “revise sign sequence information that he had permissibly provided to players prior to the game.”

In addition to his suspension, Manfred said Watkins was banned from serving as a replay room operator for the 2021 season and postseason.

The Red Sox released a statement from team president and CEO Sam Kennedy, apologizing and accepting responsibility for the team’s actions.

“As an organization, we strive for 100% compliance with the rules. MLB’s investigation concluded that in isolated instances during the 2018 regular season, sign sequences were decoded through the use of live game video rather than through permissible means," Kennedy said in the statement. "MLB acknowledged the front office’s extensive efforts to communicate and enforce the rules and concluded that Alex Cora, the coaching staff, and most of the players did not engage in, nor were they aware of, any violations. Regardless, these rule violations are unacceptable. We apologize to our fans and Major League Baseball, and accept the Commissioner’s ruling.”