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After a lengthy investigation, the Red Sox have (finally) received a punishment from the sign-stealing scandal that rocked the MLB this offseason. Ken Rosenthal broke the news a little before 3 PM EST:

BREAKING: #RedSox penalties:



*Loss of 2020 2nd-round pick.



*Ban of replay operator J.T. Watkins through 2020 playoffs and from doing same job in ‘21.



*Ban of Alex Cora through ‘20 playoffs, but only for conduct with #Astros.



Story with @EvanDrellich: https://t.co/6Ysn9hsRFa — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 22, 2020

Given the severity of the Astros punishment, it appears the Red Sox are getting off light. Earlier this (extended) offseason, the Red Sox had already parted ways with former manager Alex Cora. Per Rosenthal, Cora received punishment for his actions as a member of the coaching staff for the Houston Astros.

Fan Reaction

When breaking down this punishment, it does not impact baseball ops for Boston…like, at all. The loss of a second-round pick, who likely won’t see the major league for a handful of years, is hardly the “justice served” many in the MLB were looking for. When we do see a return of the MLB, you can expect the boo-birds to be out in droves for Boston.

With the general icy reception from MLB diehards towards the Astros, the pitchforks will be out for Boston. Manfred was slow to dole out this punishment following the Houston fall-out. With no sports news to distract attention, you can guarantee this will be top news over the coming days.

It remains to be seen if additional information is released from the MLB around the findings of their investigation. If the punishment is any indicator, they likely weren’t able to tie players’ actions and team production. Either way, you can bet the reaction to this punishment will not be well received.