[Editor’s note: This story and its headline have been updated to reflect information from the commissioner’s news conference.]



SAN DIEGO — Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Astros likely will not be completed until after the new year, sources with knowledge of the investigation told The Athletic.



The league’s department of investigations has 76,000 emails to examine and has already conducted 60 interviews, commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday, as the league tries to understand the scope of the Astros’ electronic sign-stealing efforts. The league also has a store of instant messages to sift through as well, Manfred said. That includes messages from the Slack communications platform, a source said.



“I think that this is probably the most thorough investigation that the commissioner’s office has ever undertaken,” Manfred said in a news conference at the Winter Meetings. “That review has...