Former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow Denies Involvement in Sign-Stealing Scandal

Luhnow: "It's pretty clear who was involved in the video-decoding scheme, when it started, how often it happened and basically when it ended."

Former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow continued to deny his involvement in Houston's sign-stealing scandal in an interview released on Monday.

Luhnow was fired along with former Astros manager A.J. Hinch in January after the team was found to have illegally stolen signs in 2017 and 2018. Luhnow claims he wasn't involved in the scheme and noted that those who were are still with the organization. 

"It's pretty clear who was involved in the video-decoding scheme, when it started, how often it happened and basically when it ended," Luhnow told NBC's local affiliate in Houston. "And it's also pretty clear who was not involved." 

"The people who were involved that didn't leave naturally to go to other teams are all still employed by the Astros."

Luhnow met with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred prior to getting fired in January. The former executive said he gave Manfred a 150-page report with emails, documents and testimony, but it is unclear how much that evidence was used by MLB. 

"I don't know how much of the 150-page binder he read, but none of it made its way into the final report, so frankly, he had his mind made up," Luhnow said. "He was going to punish me. There was nowhere else to go. He was going to punish A.J. [Hinch], as well, and A.J. admitted that he knew."

The Astros were fined $5 million for the sign-stealing scheme and were stripped of four future draft picks. No players were suspended for their actions. 

Houston finished 29–31 in 2020, but they reached the ALCS for the fourth straight year before losing to the Rays in Game 7.