Cardinals Scouting Director Chris Correa was a rising star in MLB circles.
Earlier this afternoon the Cardinals fired Scouting Director Chris Correa.
The team has confirmed the firing to the Post-Dispatch, but did not reveal the reason he was terminated. It’s widely speculated that this is relation to the ongoing hacking scandal the FBI is currently investigating against the team.
Correa has admitted hacking into a Houston database but only to determine whether the Astros had stolen proprietary data, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
So, yeah. It’s probably not bad timing. He’s copped to being in the Astros system.
The Scouting Director, though? Scouting. Director.
That is not a low-level employee. In fact, with the way that baseball has shifted the past decade to a game that cherishes future player ROI over tangible MLB production and where bad teams encourage fan bases to #TrustTheProcesss, you can argue that the Scouting Director might be just as important as the GM.
We got questions…
1) When did Mo find out about this? The MLB draft was JUN 8-10 and Correa was in charge of the draft as well as negotiating with the picks. Did he just find out Correa was involved recently or did he know Correa was a suspect and still let him manage the draft?
2) Doesn’t Correa report to Mo directly? I would assume so, but I don’t know the Cardinals org chart. At the very least, this isn’t a guy that the GM just says ‘hi/bye’ to when he clocks in for the day. So Mo is a little closer to the heat here than I think many of assumed. What does that mean for the investigation?
3) The Cardinals signed FIVE prospects – just TODAY.
https://twitter.com/StLCardsOnScout/status/616744298600660992
Who was in charge of this?
And not to get too outside the bun, but if Correa knew a guillotine was hanging over his head for months, just how focused was the Cardinals ’15 draft?
4) Who’s filling this position? I’m sure there are quality people ready for the challenge…
But if you’re a rising exec in baseball, you’re not touching this situation with a 50-foot pole until the FBI has announced that they’ve made all their findings. Hell, even then you might want to wait until you see what the punishment that the government and/or MLB will impose on the team.
And if you’re an internal candidate? Again, can anyone really be trusted until the investigation is complete? If the Cardinals made a promotion and it turns out that person was involved as well – HOO BOY.
5) How many people are actually going to get let go from this? Will the front office be decimated?
I’m sure there are more questions. Hopefully we’ll get answers sooner than later. But another piece of the puzzle had been revealed and the entire situation just got more concerning.
Photo: MLB.com
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