Red Sox remove interim tag from Ron Roenicke’s title
The team named Roenicke interim manager in February.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have removed the interim tag from manager Ron Roenicke’s title.
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The move comes after Major League Baseball announced its penalties against the organization for sign stealing in 2018. The Red Sox were stripped of their second-round pick in this year’s amateur draft, and team replay operator J.T. Watkins received a ban through the 2020 playoffs.
Former manager Alex Cora also remains suspended through the 2020 postseason for his previous conduct as the bench coach for the Houston Astros.
Cora was fired by the Red Sox in January, when MLB released its penalties against the Astros for their sign-stealing scandal. Roenicke, who previously served as Boston’s bench coach, was named interim manager in February.
Once Cora serves his ban, he is eligible to be hired by any organization, including the Red Sox.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred found Boston’s sign-stealing conduct far less egregious than that of the Astros, whom he determined used video to steal catchers’ signs during their run to the 2017 championship and again the following season.
Manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended through the 2020 postseason on Jan. 13 and Houston was fined $5 million, the maximum under the Major League Constitution. The Astros were penalized their next two first- and second-round amateur draft picks.
Baseball’s season is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, and this year’s draft may be cut to as few as five rounds. Manfred said he was mindful “this penalty may have a more significant impact on the Red Sox than in a normal year.”
Cora, a player on Boston’s 2007 champions, was mentioned 11 times in Manfred’s decision on the Astros, which said he developed the cheating system. But Manfred held off on a penalty until after investigating the Red Sox. Cora left Houston after the 2017 season and joined the Red Sox.
Red Sox players were promised immunity in MLB’s investigation, but Manfred said even if players had been subject to discipline, none would have been punished.
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