Jeff Luhnow
American baseball executive
- Entries
- 10
- On the record
- 4
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Jun 1, 2026
The record
Jeff Luhnow ran baseball operations for the Houston Astros from December 2011 until January 2020. The club hired him from the St. Louis Cardinals, where he had been a vice president since 2003 and had overseen the amateur draft since 2005, and the Astros won the 2017 World Series during his tenure. Commissioner Rob Manfred later wrote that Luhnow was widely considered one of the most successful baseball executives of his generation.
The central document in his file is Manfred's January 13, 2020 decision on the Astros' sign stealing. It found no evidence that Luhnow knew of the players' trash-can banging scheme and said he neither devised nor directed the replay-room decoding, but cited documentary and testimonial evidence that he had some knowledge of those efforts. Luhnow adamantly denied knowledge. Manfred held him personally accountable and suspended him without pay through the 2020 World Series.
The decision also faulted the culture of his baseball operations department, which Manfred said valued and rewarded results over other considerations and led in part to the Brandon Taubman incident. Owner Jim Crane fired Luhnow immediately after the ruling. He later turned to soccer: Spain's CD Leganés thanked him for his time as club president when 885 Capital bought Blue Crow Sports Group's majority stake in June 2026.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Filed
Luhnow sued the Astros in Harris County for breach of contract, alleging he was made a scapegoat. Astros fined $5M, lose four draft picks; Hinch, Luhnow suspended
- Ruled
MLB suspended Luhnow for the 2020 season; he denied knowledge of the scheme, and the Astros fired him. Astros fined $5M, lose four draft picks; Hinch, Luhnow suspended
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 2011-12-07 Official The Astros announced him as general manager, citing his eight-plus seasons with the Cardinals, whose draft he had run since 2005. MLB.com, Astros announcement
- 2017 Official The Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 in the World Series. MLB.com, World Series history
- 2017-09-15 Official The Commissioner issued a memorandum on sign stealing after the Red Sox incident; his 2020 decision found Luhnow received it and Joe Torre's March 2018 memorandum but did not forward either or confirm compliance. MLB, Statement of the Commissioner, In re Houston Astros
- 2019-10-24 Official The Astros fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman over his conduct toward one or more female reporters at the ALCS celebration; the Commissioner later called the club's response to the incident admittedly inappropriate and inaccurate. MLB, Statement of the Commissioner, In re Houston Astros
- 2020-01 Reported Astros owner Jim Crane fired Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch immediately after the suspensions were announced, ESPN reported. ESPN report
- 2020-01-13 Ruled The Commissioner found no evidence Luhnow knew of the banging scheme, but documentary and testimonial evidence that he had some knowledge of the replay-room decoding, which he adamantly denied. MLB, Statement of the Commissioner, In re Houston Astros
- 2020-01-13 Ruled He was suspended without pay through the day after the 2020 World Series and warned that any future material violation would put him on the permanently ineligible list. MLB, Statement of the Commissioner, In re Houston Astros
- 2026-06-01 Official CD Leganés announced that 885 Capital had bought Blue Crow Sports Group's 84.24% stake and thanked Luhnow for his time as club president. CD Leganés official statement