On January 7, it was reported in "The Athletic" that the Red Sox had used their video replay room to steal signs during their 2018 season. On January 15, the Red Sox and manager Alex Cora agreed to mutually part ways after he was named in MLB's report about the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal, which occurred during his tenure as bench coach with the 2017 Astros. Ron Roenicke was subsequently named Boston's interim manager. On February 10, a trade of Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers was made official, in a move seen as a salary dump by analysts, although denied by Red Sox executives. In March, the start of the MLB season was indefinitely postponed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, MLB's investigation into 2018 sign-stealing resulted in a finding of improper actions by the team's replay operator, who as a result was suspended for the 2020 season, and the team forfeited their second-round selection in the 2020 MLB draft. The "interim" tag was subsequently removed from Roenicke's title. The team struggled throughout their abbreviated 60-game regular season, contested July 24 through September 27, finishing in last place of the AL East division, with a record of 24–36. Prior to the final regular season game, management announced that Roenicke would not return as manager for the 2021 season.