Alex Cora takes issue with former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed he took issue with the comments made by former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow following the sign-stealing scandal investigation.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora made his return to Houston on Monday to face his former team in the Astros for the first time since being named in the sign-stealing scandal of 2017. Cora, who was the team’s bench coach at the time, was suspended for the entire 2020 season by MLB and the Red Sox parted ways with him as a result.

While speaking with the media on Monday, Cora did say that he owns up to his role in the scandal. During the session, Cora did mention that he took issue with how former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow portrayed him in the investigation.

“Out of the whole report, the way Jeff talked about myself, just saying, ‘the bench coach,’ that really bothered me,” Cora said, via Chris Cotillo of Mass Live. “I don’t know what was said in the investigation. I know what I said and what I went through. It is what it is. I got suspended. Deservedly so. That’s something, it will always be on my resumé. At the end, we all made a mistake, we all messed up and we are all paying the price.”

Alex Cora take issue with former Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow’s comments

After he was punished by the league and subsequently fired by the Astros, Luhnow released a statement to express that he was not a cheater and claimed he had no clue the sign-stealing was taking place. In that very statement, Luhnow says that the trash-can banging done to relay signs was done by the players, while “the video decoding of signs originated and was executed by lower-level employees working with the bench coach.”

Last June, Cora spoke out about his role in the sign-stealing scandal, saying that while he did accept responsibility, he took exception to Luhnow and those in the Astros organization singling him out as if he was “the sole mastermind.” He stressed that everyone on the team was responsible.

Luhnow and Cora were not the only ones to lose their jobs as a result of the sign-stealing scandal. Then-manager A.J. Hinch was fired alongside Luhnow, while former Astros player Carlos Beltran was let go by the New York Mets mere months after the team hired him to be their manager, due to him being named in the investigation.

Cora was greeted with some boos from fans inside Minute Maid Park when being introduced prior to Monday’s game. As for the contest itself, the Red Sox were trounced by the Astros 11-2, bringing an end to their three-game winning streak.

Months after initially speaking out against Luhnow, Cora let it be known that there are still hard feelings.