The punishment has been handed down. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has ruled that the St. Louis Cardinals will surrender their first two draft picks of 2017 and pay fine of $2 million to the Houston Astros for the actions of former Scouting Director Chris Correa.
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“We respect the Commissioner’s decision and appreciate that there is now a final resolution to this matter,” said St. Louis Cardinals Chairman of the Board and CEO Bill DeWitt via press release. “Commissioner Manfred’s findings are fully consistent with our own investigation’s conclusion that this activity was isolated to a single individual.”
The Cardinals conducted their own investigation after the allegations surfaced in 2015 and resulted in the termination of Correa from the organization.
A federal judge later sentenced Correa to 46 months in jail after he plead guilty to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer.
As part of his ruling, Commissioner Manfred has also placed Correa on the permanently ineligible list for baseball.
“This has been a long and challenging process for all of us, especially those within our baseball operations department,” said St. Louis Cardinals General Manager and Executive Vice President John Mozeliak. “We have learned a great deal along the way and we have taken additional steps to ensure that something like this doesn’t ever happen again.”
The Cardinals did not have a first round pick in the draft this year, so Houston will receive the number 56th pick overall, part of the 2nd round, and the 75th overall pick–which is part of Compensation Round B.
The $2 million fine is required to be paid within the next 30 days.
photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports, St. Louis Baseball Weekly
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