ORLANDO — The Pittsburgh Pirates dismissed Rene Gayo as their Director of Latin American Scouting after an investigation by Major League Baseball revealed that he had received an improper payment from a Mexican Summer League team, major-league sources told The Athletic.



The investigation showed that the Mexican team paid Gayo a form of a kickback several years ago for the sale of at least one player to the Pirates, sources said. The Pirates, after learning the results of baseball’s probe, informed Gayo on Monday that they would not renew his contract. Gayo, 55, still faces possible discipline from MLB.



In a statement, Pirates GM Neal Huntington said “we had been apprised of Major League Baseball’s investigation into alleged Rules violations committed by Rene during his tenure with the Pirates and the fact that MLB intends to discipline Rene as a result of those violations. Other than confirming our profound disappointment in the breach of trust...