Jeff Luhnow Sues Astros for More Than $22M over Firing for Cheating Scandal

Former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow is reportedly suing the Houston Astros for $22 million, per TMZ Sports, for firing him in January 2020 after the team's sign-stealing scandal came to light despite his claims that he had "no knowledge of—or involvement in—the sign-stealing schemes." 

Luhnow's lawsuit claims that "everyone above and below Luhnow in the Astros organization came away unscathed," including the "video room employees who conceived and orchestrated the sign stealing system."

That isn't entirely true—manager A.J. Hinch was also fired as a result of the scandal.

Major League Baseball also suspended both Luhnow and Hinch for the entire 2020 season, though no players were punished. Hinch has since been hired by the Detroit Tigers to be their manager starting in the 2021 campaign. 

Luhnow is claiming breach of contract in his lawsuit, saying he lost the a huge chunk of the $31 million in guaranteed money that was included in his 2018 contract extension and that the MLB investigation was "deeply flawed" and unfairly scapegoated him. 

As ESPN reported:

"Luhnow's lawyers alleged Tom Koch-Weser, the Astros' director of advance information, was the only one of 70 witnesses in MLB's investigation to claim Luhnow spoke of electronic sign stealing. They claimed Koch-Weser stole signs and lied during baseball's investigation and alleged the Astros told Koch-Weser 'he could keep his job as long as his actions were sanctioned by his supervisors, including Luhnow.'"

He has also claimed in his lawsuit that his firing was a "negotiated resolution" between MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and Astros owner Jim Crane, framing it as a compromise that allowed Houston to keep its 2017 World Series title. 

The 53-year-old Luhnow served as Houston's general manager between the 2011-19 seasons. Under his watch, the team reached the postseason four times, the World Series twice and won a title.