Astros info leaked
The Houston Astros say they have been the victims of hackers who accessed their servers and published months of internal trade talks on the Internet.
General manager Jeff Luhnow says “it was an illegal activity and we’re going to pursue it and try and find out who did it and prosecute.”
He says they learned of the breach about a month ago. The team responded on Monday after the website Deadspin.com published a story about the breach.
Among the items involved talks with Miami to trade 2012 top overall pick Carlos Correa and rookie George Springer for Marlins star slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
Luhnow says some of the information was accurate and some was not, but he wouldn’t discuss what portions fell into which category.
Ramirez accepts player/coach role
Manny Ramirez joined the Triple-A Iowa Cubs as a player/coach last Thursday after signing with Chicago in late May. Ramirez is expected to play one or two times a week and work with the Cubs’ most promising prospects.
Former Mets GM Cashen dies
Frank Cashen, the general manager who led the New York Mets to the 1986 World Series championship, died after a short illness. He was 88. Cashen was also an executive for the Orioles.
Former pitcher Castillo dead at 59
Bobby Castillo, a former Dodgers and Minnesota Twins pitcher credited with teaching Fernando Valenzuela how to throw a screwball, died in a Los Angeles hospital after a battle with cancer. He was 59. Castillo pitched from 1977-85.
Machado begins serving ban
Orioles third baseman Manny Machado began serving a five-game suspension, nearly three weeks after Major League Baseball initially levied the sentence and five days after his appeal hearing. Machado was suspended and fined on June 10 for intentionally throwing his bat on the field during an at-bat in Baltimore’s game against Oakland on June 8.
Clearing the bases
The Royals signed Raul Ibanez, nine days after he was released by the Angels. … Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper returned from the disabled list after missing 57 games with a torn thumb ligament. … Former major league pitcher Joel Pineiro has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a banned stimulant.