There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding when — or if — the 2020 Major League Baseball season will begin. But for two former Houston Astros members, their future is a bit more clear.
Both manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended by MLB in January for one year for their role in the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal. Houston took it a step further, however, and fired the duo.
Hinch and Luhnow remained suspended and would not be able to get a job in baseball for 2020. But, as you know, the world of sports is on hold as healthcare professionals try to get the coronavirus pandemic under control.
Let’s just say, hypothetically, the season gets cancelled. Does that mean Hinch and Luhnow’s suspensions also are on hold until games are able to be played?
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, “because the suspensions are tied to the end of the 2020 postseason rather than a specific number of games, MLB will view Luhnow and Hinch as having served their discipline this year,” he reported Thursday citing league sources.
So regardless of how many games are played, both Hinch and Luhnow will have served their one-year suspensions and will be eligible to return to MLB in 2021.
