By RONALD BLUM and JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writers

NEW YORK (AP) - The Boston Red Sox escaped severe penalties in Major League Baseball’s cheating scandal after Commissioner Rob Manfred concluded their violations were far less flagrant than those of the Houston Astros. Boston was stripped of its second-round pick in this year’s amateur draft for sign stealing in 2018, and former manager Alex Cora was suspended through the 2020 postseason for his previous conduct as Houston's bench coach. Manfred issued his decision Wednesday, announcing Red Sox replay system operator J.T. Watkins violated the prohibition on in-game use of video to revise sign sequences provided to players. Watkins was suspended without pay through this year’s postseason. He denied the allegations.

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