Had Manfred suspended the players, he would have surely faced pushback from their union. His report in January blistered the Astros’ leadership but curiously spared the team’s owner, Jim Crane, who piled on the departed General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch last week by blaming them for not giving “proper guidance” to his players.

Manfred said Sunday that, in a perfect world, he would have punished the players, but he needed their cooperation to confirm what really happened.

“They had an obligation to play by the rules and they didn’t do it,” Manfred said. “I understand when people say the players should have been punished. I understand why people feel that way, because they did not do the right thing. If I was in a world where I could have found all the facts without granting immunity, I would have done that.”

The Astros begin their exhibition schedule on Saturday night against the Washington Nationals, who beat them in a seven-game World Series last fall. Houston opens its season at home on March 26 against the Los Angeles Angels, and then plays its first road series in Oakland, home of the Athletics and pitcher Mike Fiers — the former Astro who revealed the sign-stealing operation to The Athletic in November.

Who will be the first pitcher to inflict punishment at 95 miles an hour? At Red Sox camp on Sunday, reporters asked Chris Sale — who was thrashed by the Astros in the 2017 division series opener in Houston — about that. Sale seemed fine with whatever his fellow pitchers decide.

“I think the game polices itself sometimes,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I think you’re going to see some stuff happen this year. I don’t know if it’s right, wrong or indifferent. Guys are certainly welcome to handle things however they want.’’