The 2020 baseball season hasn’t started yet due to the coronavirus but former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch are still serving their suspensions. They will fulfill their suspensions this year even if MLB cancels the season, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.
Hinch and Luhnow were each suspended for one year in January following the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. They were subsequently fired by the Astros after MLB announced the team’s punishment for sign-stealing. According to commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision, the suspensions end after the 2020 World Series is complete.
MLB will view Hinch and Luhnow as having served their suspensions this year despite how many games are played since the suspensions are tied to the postseason rather than a specific number of games, according to Olney. If Luhnow and Hinch have any more violations, then they will be placed on MLB’s permanently ineligible list.
The question now remains whether or not they will have a job in baseball in 2021. There’s a good chance that no team will want them.
