Alex Rodriguez could be just days away from the biggest day in his MLB career, becoming part-owner of the New York Mets. As one of MLB’s greatest waits to hear if he will become a baseball owner and executive, he is also talking to one of the most disgraced names in baseball history.
Just months after Rodriguez blasted the Houston Astros for the cheating scandal that rocked MLB, he is reportedly now talking to one of the men who helped engineer the sign-stealing operation.
Alex Rodriguez consulting with Jeff Luhnow before New York Mets’ sale
The sale of the New York Mets is expected to conclude on Aug. 31, with Rodriguez’s group expected to win the bidding. On the verge of joining former teammate Derek Jeter in the exclusive club of MLB ownership, Rodriguez has reportedly been consulting with several prominent names in the baseball world.
Among them, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Rodriguez has been in contact with former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow. While the discussions are specific to the financial side of the bidding, seeking input on a management consultant firm that Luhnow once worked for.
Of course, Luhnow is the same person serving a year-long suspension for his role in the Astros’ electronic sign stealing. In MLB’s extensive investigation, it found evidence that concluded Luhnow knew about the team’s sign-stealing program. The league also found that he was negligent by not making players aware of the rules against using technology to steal signs.
t’s not the only issue on Luhnow’s resume, either. He hired McKinsey consultants to examine the Astros’ baseball operations in 2017 and ’18, per Rosenthal. It’s the same firm that Rodriguez is seeking input about and the same company that has faced other troubling allegations.
Rodriguez’s group hired McKinsey to analyze the Mets, further tying him to the Astros’ scandal. But this goes even further. Astros’ owner Jim Crane told USA Today in July that Rodriguez reached out to him about the ownership side of MLB.
While Rodriguez reportedly doesn’t plan to hire Luhnow after his year-long suspension ends, his decision to reach out to both he and Crane is a bad look. Crane played a starring role in the weak apology that Rodriguez blasted and other MLB stars called Crane out for his “ignorant” comments. Meanwhile, Luhnow’s statement following his suspension put all the blame for the team’s cheating on his staffers.
It seems likely that Rodriguez will become the next co-owner of the Mets and he would have a powerful voice in the club’s baseball operations. If the decisions he’s making before the sale are any indicator, though, it might not be a good thing if he wins the bid.