The Pirates announced on Wednesday that they will not renew the contract of director of Latin American scouting Rene Gayo following a league investigation into alleged rules violations against Gayo. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Gayo would be dismissed, noting that several years ago, he accepted kickback payments from a team in the Mexican Summer League as compensation for the sale of “at least one player to the Pirates,” per Rosenthal.
In a press release announcing that Gayo’s contract would not be renewed, Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington offered the following statement:
“We had been apprised of Major League Baseball’s investigation into alleged Rules violations committed by Rene during his tenure with the Pirates and the fact that MLB intends to discipline Rene as a result of those violations. Other than confirming our profound disappointment in the breach of trust that was the subject of MLB’s investigation, we will have no further comment on the investigation or MLB’s intended discipline.”
It’s not clear exactly what form of punishment the league will impose on Gayo, though Rosenthal notes that the Pirates organization will not be penalized for Gayo’s actions. The Pirates, Huntington added in the press release, will begin an “exhaustive” search for a replacement.