Rob Manfred on Controversy Involving Astros Assistant GM Brandon Taubman: 'I'm Really Concerned'

Manfred said he was worried about Astros assistant GM Brandon Taubman's outburst about Roberto Osuna.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is "really concerned" with Astros assistant general manager Brandon Taubman's clubhouse outburst during the team's American League title celebration.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday, Manfred said he was waiting on a report from investigators but was worried about the type of environment the league was creating in team clubhouses.

"I'm really concerned about the underlying substance of the situation and what the atmosphere was and how it came to be," Manfred said. "We pride ourselves on providing an inclusive and harassment free environment in all of the various aspects of our business. I think it's a core value of baseball, and I think we have to be tremendously concerned whenever we have an incident that attracts this much attention."

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on the controversy involving #Astros ass’t GM Brandon Taubman: “I’m really concerned at this point about the underlying substance of the situation & what the atmosphere was..We pride ourselves on providing an inclusive,harassment free environment.” pic.twitter.com/S6XC08RJx1

— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) October 23, 2019

Manfred's statements come two days after Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein reported that Taubman shouted "Thank God we got Osuna! I’m so f------ glad we got Osuna!" at three female reporters in the Astros' clubhouse following their Game 6 victory on Saturday night to clinch the American League pennant.

Multiple other outlets—including the Houston Chronicle and Yahoo! Sports—have corroborated SI's reporting.

In May 2018, Osuna was arrested on domestic violence charges while playing for the Blue Jays. The charges were dropped but MLB suspended Osuna for 75 games for violating its domestic violence policy. Houston traded for him shortly before his suspension ended.

After the publication of Apstein's story, the Astros released a statement calling it an "attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist."

On Tuesday, Taubman released a statement to apologize for his comments on Osuna.

"I used inappropriate language for which I am deeply sorry and embarrassed. In retrospect, I realized that my comments were unprofessional and inappropriate," the statement said. "My overexuberance in support of a player has been misinterpreted as a demonstration of a regressive attitude about an important social issue."

Manfred added that "there will be a conversation with the club at the end of the investigation, and as is often the case, we'll make a decision with the club as to who should handle it."