A's Manaea doesn't have 'much respect' for Astros

Oakland Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea made his feelings known on Monday when asked about the Houston Astros' sign-sealing scandal.

The A's pitcher believes the Astros put the entire league in an awkward position and couldn't understand their motives as one of baseball's best teams.

“You guys are already legit. Why do you need to cheat? Why do you need to stain that record?" Manaea said on 95.7 The Game. "I really don't have that much respect for any of those guys on the team."

In January, after Manaea's teammate Mike Fiers claimed his former team had illegally stolen signs, a league investigation determined the Astros were guilty during the 2017 season - the same year they won the World Series.

As punishment, the Astros were fined $5 million and forfeited their first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, while manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were each suspended for the entire 2020 season. The pair were subsequently fired by the team.

With the shortened 2020 campaign approaching, Manaea and the A's will play 10 of their 60 games against the Astros. Even though fans won't be in attendance, the A's pitcher believes their actions will never be forgotten by baseball's faithful.

"Everything they've done, the World Series title, their regular-season stats, all of this different stuff, it doesn't mean anything," Manaea said. "The Astros put everybody in a weird situation."