had renegotiated Cora's contract, including an extension through the 2021 season, with a club option for 2022. Electronic sign stealing On November 13, 2019, it was reported that Cora, along with former Astros player Carlos Beltrán, played a key role in the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal during their time with the team, which included Houston's 2017 championship season. Cora was interviewed during MLB's investigation of the Astros, with the Red Sox offering their "full cooperation". On January 7, 2020, The Athletic published a report alleging that the 2018 Red Sox broke MLB rules by using a video replay room during regular season games to decipher the signs of opposing catchers, according to three unnamed sources who were with the team that year. On January 13, MLB's findings regarding Houston's sign stealing were announced, including that Cora "was the only non-player involved in the subterfuge." However, commissioner Rob Manfred deferred any discipline for Cora until the conclusion of the separate investigation into the 2018 Red Sox. This raised the possibility that Cora could face significant discipline from MLB, possibly as lengthy as the one-year suspension meted out to Astros manager A. J. Hinch. The following day, Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways. According to a joint statement issued by majority owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Sam Kennedy, all parties involved concluded that given the nature of the findings, Cora could not effectively lead the team. Cora issued a statement of his own saying that he "did not want to be a distraction" to the team. On April 22, 2020, commissioner Rob Manfred issued findings from MLB's investigation about electronic sign-stealing by the 2018 Red Sox. The findings focused on the actions of the team's replay operator, who as a result was suspended for the 2020 season (including postseason) and the team forfeited their second-round selection in the 2020 MLB draft. About Cora, Manfred stated: Alex Cora will be suspended through the conclusion of the 2020 Postseason for his conduct as the bench coach of the Houston Astros in 2017. While I will not impose additional discipline on Cora as a result of the conduct engaged in by [the Red Sox' replay operator] (because I do not find that he was aware of it), I do note that Cora did not effectively communicate to Red Sox players the sign-stealing rules that were in place