MLB letter to New York Yankees detailed illicit use of technology prior to 2017 sign-stealing edict

A years-old letter sent by Major League Baseball to the New York Yankees and obtained by ESPN on Tuesday details illicit use of technology during the 2015 and '16 seasons that was relatively benign within the context of the sign-stealing scandals that occurred around the game at the same time.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Second Court of Appeals denied the Yankees' request to keep the letter — from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman — under seal.

The letter was first published by SNY on Tuesday.

Manfred's letter contains information about technology violations that occurred before the commissioner issued a memo to all teams in September 2017, a mandate that was regarded as a benchmark in the evolving concern about sign-stealing within the sport. Manfred warned teams that he would hold the front offices and staffers accountable for violations, and that violators faced penalties that included the possible loss of draft picks.

In January 2020, the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox were penalized for using technology to steal signs late in the 2017 season and in 2018, after Manfred's memo was issued.

The details contained in Manfred's letter to the Yankees note violations that players and staffers say became commonplace in the sport after instant replay monitors were installed within proximity of the dugouts in 2014.

In the letter, Manfred informed the Yankees that MLB's investigation found that the team's players watched the monitors in 2015 and 2016 to discern pitch-sequence information that was then relayed to baserunners in the hope that they could communicate this to the batter. Additionally, sources told ESPN that the letter notes that former Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild