As MLB continues its investigation into allegations of the Houston Astros stealing signs since 2017, a new report indicates that it began in Houston’s front office.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, an unnamed front-office executive wrote an email in August 2017 asking scouts to pursue stealing signs from the stands and suggested using cameras to accomplish it.
In the email obtained by The Athletic, the unnamed executive states that the organization is to specifically find out how many signs they can pick up from the other team.
“One thing in specific we are looking for is picking up signs coming out of the dugout,” the executive wrote in an email, via The Athletic. “What we are looking for is how much we can see, how we would log things, if we need cameras/binoculars, etc. So go to game, see what you can (or can’t) do and report back your findings.”
It’s the latest development in the biggest ongoing story of the MLB offseason. Rosenthal and Drellich previously detailed the specifics of how the Astros stole signs from opposing teams with accounts from some of the players involved.
Houston’s alleged illegal sign stealing is something other teams were aware of, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, and some even complained about during the 2019 postseason.
If MLB concludes its investigation and verifies the allegations, the league could deliver substantial punishments to the organization, team and potentially even players involved.