Latest Update on Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch Suspensions Will Infuriate MLB Fans

The Houston Astros had to face the music after it was confirmed they used illegal means to steal signs on their way to a World Series title in 2017, and the punishment handed down to the organization centered around the one-year bans for former manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow.

With the coronavirus pandemic postponing the start of the 2020 season, reports have confirmed that the bans for both Hinch and Luhnow would expire at the end of the 2020 season, even if there are no games played.

Hinch and Luhnow were both relieved of their duties as manager and GM of the Astros before being hit with the punishment, but now is it even really a punishment?

While there's no doubt that their baseball acumen helped the likes of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Carlos Correa develop into stars, they also made them cogs in one of the biggest cheating machines the game has ever seen, and that more than warranted their expulsion from the game for a year (at least). So the fact they won't even be serving a true suspension if the 2020 season doesn't happen is an insult to baseball fans everywhere.

If we can be sure of anything as it related to the sign-stealing scandal, it's that Hinch and Luhnow were two of the most impactful figures in the operation, which deserves much more than a one-year suspension -- and certainly not ONLY a fake one-year suspension. Now they can get off on a technicality. All we can hope for is that no MLB team hires either of these guys once they're reinstated.