On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox reintroduced Alex Cora as their manager, less than a year after parting ways with him because of his involvement in the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. Cora had, of course, been suspended for the season by Major League Baseball through the 2020 season.
As it turns out, Cora won't be the only individual returning to Boston after being punished for improper technological conduct.
J.T. Watkins, who was banned for the 2020 season after an MLB investigation found evidence he had used the replay room to decode the opposition's signs for the Red Sox during the 2018 season, has been allowed to resume working for the club. He'll now be working with the Red Sox's pro scouting staff rather than as a video replay coordinator, according to the Boston Globe.
Here's more, courtesy of the Globe:
This year, an MLB investigation into sign sequence stealing by the 2018 Red Sox found that Watkins — in his capacity as in-game replay monitor — used the live replay feed to identify opponents' sign sequences and convey them to players. In his conversations with MLB investigators, Watkins — who was part of the legal pregame efforts to decode opponents' sign sequences — vehemently denied the charge that he had used in-game information to revise sign-sequence information from the pregame report.
Watkins hasn't and likely won't face the same scrutiny that Cora (and others in higher-ranking positions) have faced. It's clear, though, that the Red Sox and the rest of the league are not viewing sign-stealing misconduct as a career-ender. Rather, nearly all of the individuals punished this year for their part in sign-stealing operations have been permitted reentrance: Watkins and Cora as well as new Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.
That leaves former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and ex-New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran as the exceptions. Luhnow recently opted to sue the Astros for what he claims is a breach of contract, while Beltran has maintained a low profile since he was ousted in January.
