Cardinals fire scouting director due to hacking scandal

The St. Louis Cardinals have fired scouting director Chris Correa for his role in the breach of the Houston Astros' computer system Ground Central, reports Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Correa had been on an "imposed leave of absence."

Gould cites a source saying that Correa had admitted to getting into the Astros' database, but it was only to see if the Astros had stolen data that was used in the Cardinals system. Gould reported that Correa did not leak the Astros data and is not responsible for any additional breaches that the FBI is investigating. 

Correa's lawyer, Nicholas Williams, gave the following statement.

Mr. Correa denies any illegal conduct. The relevant inquiry should be what information did former St. Louis Cardinals employees steal from the St. Louis Cardinals organization prior to joining the Houston Astros, and who in the Houston Astros organization authorized, consented to, or benefited from that roguish behavior.”

This involvement of Correa is especially interesting because nobody believed that the breaching involved front office members as high up as scouting director. It will be interesting to see how this continues to develop as the FBI investigates.

--Devan Fink