Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal just got even worse

The Astros sign-stealing scandal was unearthed years ago, but it remains at the forefront of conversation in the sport, as more details continue to spew out.

Houston used an electronic sign-stealing system, which was relayed by players in the dugout to those in the batters box, to tell which pitches were coming in critical situations, including the 2017 World Series.

While the players faced little to no actual punishment, their reputations are stained forever. This includes the likes of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman. Alex Cora, Carlos Beltran and AJ Hinch all either took a year off or were suspended by MLB. Jeff Luhnow, the general manager at the time who oversaw this entire mess, has yet to get another job in baseball.

Luhnow, it turns out, tried to warn those within the Astros organization of an impending investigation before the fact. Those close to Luhnow even suggest he deleted data from his own phone, and insinuated others to do the same, per a report from The Athletic.

Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal gets even worse

Seemingly every reminder and/or update to this cheating scandal makes matters worse. It’s another layer and reminder that Houston knew exactly what they were doing, and continued to sweep it under the rug.

To attempt to interfere with MLB’s investigation in any way is another stain on the game itself:

"“In any investigation, the league notifies people of interest in writing that they need to preserve their cell phones. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, investigators learned, had instructed one of his lieutenants, Bill Firkus, to give a personal heads up to others with the team that MLB might collect their devices, a person with direct knowledge of the league’s investigation said.”"

The source which spoke to The Athletic perceived Luhnow as being in a state of panic, and while the then-GM didn’t explicitly tell players and coaches to delete messages, he did warn them their phones could be searched.

That, along with everything else on Luhnow’s plate, makes him and anyone associated with the 2017 Astros look even worse.