Former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow deleted data from his cell phone during MLB's investigation into the team's sign-stealing scheme two years ago, according to The Athletic. Luhnow claimed to only delete sensitive material involving his wife, though MLB found Luhnow deleted backup data and other information.
The deletion of phone data was not among the infractions outlined in commissioner Rob Manfred's report regarding the sign-stealing investigation. Here are more details from The Athletic, which published an excerpt from Evan Drellich's forthcoming book about the Astros scandal:
"Your credibility is further impacted by the fact that you permanently deleted information from your phone and its backups in anticipation that my investigators would seek to search your phone," Manfred wrote to Luhnow. "You did not tell my investigators that you had done this until they confronted you about it in your second interview. While you explained that you were simply deleting sensitive personal photographs, I have no way to confirm that you did not delete incriminating evidence."
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"In addition to submitting to two interviews by the Commissioner's Office, the Astros and MLB had complete unfettered access to every text message I sent or received during the relevant time period," Luhnow said. "MLB never identified a single text that suggested I had any involvement in the matter — and the League had plenty of texts to make its case. In fact, the investigation uncovered 22,000 text messages from the alleged actual participants in the sign stealing. The alleged participants openly texted in real time about sign stealing activity — and not a single communication implicated me, directly or indirectly, in any way, shape or form. I was not mentioned in these contemporaneous texts because I was not party to sign stealing activities."
Among other disciplinary measures, MLB suspended Luhnow for one year as a result of the sign-stealing scandal. Luhnow maintains his innocence, though he was fired by Astros owner Jim Crane soon after the suspension was announced.
"I am not a cheater," Luhnow said in statement at the time. "Anybody who has worked closely with me during my 32-year career inside and outside baseball can attest to my integrity. I did not know rules were being broken."
Luhnow, 55, has mostly been involved in soccer since bring fired by the Astros. He purchased the CD Leganés football club of La Liga's second division in Spain earlier this summer.
