Mike Fiers Says He's Received Death Threats for Exposing Astros' Cheating Scandal

A's pitcher Mike Fiers, a former member of the Astros, said he's received death threats for exposing Houston's trash-can banging scheme.

A's pitcher Mike Fiers said he's received death threats since making comments that sparked MLB's investigation into the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

"Whatever, I don't care. I've dealt with a lot of death threats before. It's just another thing on my plate," he told the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser, adding that he's only concerned for the sake of his family.

Slusser reports A's officials spoke to MLB vice president and deputy council Bryan Seely in January about threats made against Fiers. Commissioner Rob Manfred said on Tuesday that the league is also looking out for Fiers's safety.

"We will take every possible step to protect Mike Fiers wherever he's playing, whether it's in Houston or somewhere else," Manfred said.

In a November interview with The Athletic, Fiers, who played for Houston in 2017, exposed the Astros' trash-can banging scheme from that season, where Houston stole opponents' signs at Minute Maid Park with the use of an outfield camera. The video was fed to a monitor near the team's dugout, and a player would watch the monitor and bang on a trash can to indicate incoming pitches to Astros batters.

On Jan. 13, MLB released a nine-page report detailing how Houston cheated during the 2017-18 regular seasons and postseasons. Manfred suspended Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow through the 2020 World Series, but owner Jim Crane subsequently fired them. Managers Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran were named in the report and later parted ways with the Red Sox and Mets in the wake of the scandal. Cora served as Houston's 2017 bench coach, while Beltran was a member of the World Series-winning roster.

No Astros players were punished for their role in the scheme but were promised immunity for their testimony.

The reaction around baseball to Fiers going on the record with The Athletic has been mixed. Former Red Sox star David Ortiz called Fiers a "snitch" while talking to reporters on Thursday. 

Conversely, Manfred has supported Fiers for coming forward and helping expose the Astros' sign-stealing operation, going so far as to say at a press conference Sunday that Fiers "did the industry a service... Without a Mike Fiers, we probably would have a very difficult time cleaning this up."