Earlier this week, commissioner Rob Manfred concluded his investigation of the Cardinals hacking scandal, during which he determined the Astros "suffered material harm" that is "not amenable to precise quantification."

Manfred disciplined the Cardinals by imposing a $2 million fine, payable to the Astros, and sending their top two 2017 draft picks to Houston. Also, Chris Correa, the front office employee who did the actual hacking, has been banned from baseball.

Correa, who is currently serving a 46-month prison sentence for his role in the hacking scandal, issued a statement Tuesday responding to the commissioner's decision. He maintains the Astros hacked the Cardinals first. Here is the statement:

Correa does not plead his innocence -- in fact, he fully acknowledges he broke the law -- rather he says the Astros hacked the Cardinals and used their proprietary data, yet the commissioner's office did nothing about it. They refused to meet with him to discuss the scandal.

MLB responded to Correa's statement with a statement of their own Tuesday afternoon:

"The Office of the Commissioner made the decision in the spring of 2015 for sound legal reasons to defer its investigation of the incursions into the Astros' systems, including interviewing Mr. Correa and witnesses, as a result of the ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.

"Mr. Correa and potential witnesses were informed of our decision to defer our investigation until the government completed its investigation and any criminal charges against Mr. Correa were adjudicated. Upon the conclusion of the federal investigation, during July and August 2016, the Department of Investigations repeatedly requested Mr. Correa's cooperation through his attorney. On July 21, 2016, Mr. Correa was informed directly that he would be placed on the permanently ineligible list if he did not cooperate with the Department of Investigations. Mr. Correa not only steadfastly refused to answer any questions, but also opposed the release of any documents by the government to the Office of the Commissioner. On August 23, 2016, Mr. Correa's attorney told the Department of Investigations that Mr. Correa was not interested in 'providing any information directly or indirectly to MLB.' The Department of Investigations was not provided evidence to substantiate the other allegations contained in Mr. Correa's letter, but remains willing to meet with Mr. Correa at any time."

Needless to say, Correa's credibility is in serious question. Also, it's worth noting Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt said Manfred's findings were consistent with the team's internal investigation. Here is DeWitt's statement:

"We respect the Commissioner's decision and appreciate that there is now a final resolution to this matter. Commissioner Manfred's findings are fully consistent with our own investigation's conclusion that this activity was isolated to a single individual."

Several current Astros employees, including general manager Jeff Luhnow and analyst Sig Mejdal, previously worked alongside Correa with the Cardinals.

Correa is currently in prison for 12 counts of what amounts to corporate espionage.