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Report: Cardinals not likely to get hacking punishment before draft

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

It appears the St. Louis Cardinals can go forward with their 2016 draft plans unfettered.

Major League Baseball will likely be unable to level punishment on the team for last year's hacking scandal in time for this year's draft, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The league has been planning on waiting until after former Cardinals director of scouting Chris Correa is sentenced for hacking into the Houston Astros' internal database, according to Goold. Correa's sentencing hearing has been delayed multiple times, meaning MLB has yet to be able to finish its own investigation.

Correa, who was fired by the Cardinals after the story broke last year, pleaded guilty to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer in January. His sentencing hearing is now scheduled to take place July 5, and he could face between three-to-four years in jail.

Related - Former prosecutor: Astros hacker will likely get 2-3 years in prison

Depending on the findings in its own investigation, baseball could punish the Cardinals by stripping multiple future draft picks, limiting how much money the team can spend signing amateur players, or both, at commissioner Rob Manfred's discretion. The organization could also be fined.

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak declined to comment, saying he couldn't speak about either the federal or baseball investigations at this time.

St. Louis' four picks on the first day of the 2016 draft are more than any team except the San Diego Padres. The team owns three of the first 34 overall picks.

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