The Houston Astros are alleged to have stolen signs electronically throughout the 2017 season, The Athletic reported on Tuesday. Major League Baseball rules prohibit MLB teams from using electronics to see a catcher's signs to the pitcher. The Athletic talked to four people associated with the Astros in 2017, the year they won their only World Series.

NFL notebook: Stafford says Lions right to sit him on Sunday Matthew Stafford was scratched with a back injury by the Detroit Lions before Sunday's game at Chicago, and the NFL is looking into when the team knew its quarterback wouldn't be able to go against the Bears, per multiple reports on Monday. Stafford was hurt late in the Week 9 loss to Oakland, according to general manager Bob Quinn, and the Lions did list Stafford as limited throughout the week on the official injury report.

NFL notebook: Stafford says Lions right to sit him on Sunday Matthew Stafford was scratched with a back injury by the Detroit Lions before Sunday's game at Chicago, and the NFL is looking into when the team knew its quarterback wouldn't be able to go against the Bears, per multiple reports on Monday. Stafford was hurt late in the Week 9 loss to Oakland, according to general manager Bob Quinn, and the Lions did list Stafford as limited throughout the week on the official injury report.

Tampa Bay Rays senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager Erik Neander, whose team reached the playoffs despite having the lowest payroll in baseball, was named as Major League Baseball Executive of the Year on Monday. The award capped a bountiful year for Neander and the Rays. Tampa Bay finished the regular season 96-66 for the seventh-best record in the majors, captured an AL wild-card berth, then knocked out the Oakland Athletics in the wild-card game.

Tampa Bay Rays general manager Erik Neander has been voted Major League Baseball's Executive of the Year. Tampa Bay was 96-66, the second-most wins in team history, despite a big league-low payroll of $66 million. The Rays beat Oakland in the AL wild-card game, then lost to Houston in a five-game Division Series.

For years, the NFL has held a stereotype that the quarterback position had to featured a tall, unathletic man with a cannon for an arm. However, the history of the league saw plenty of men who had manned the position that was smaller than the average QB and could run with the best athletes on the field, and still have a cannon in their arm. Here are some of those players in today's game.

Colorado Rockies star Nolan Arenado and Boston Red Sox sensation Mookie Betts highlighted the 2019 Gold Glove Award winners. MLB announced the winners on Sunday and there were several first-time winners, including Lorenzo Cain of the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger. The list of winners features the St Louis Cardinals' Kolten Wong, Cleveland Indians star Francisco Lindor, JT Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs' Anthony Rizzo.

They say you can't predict baseball, but that's not entirely true. You can bet your entire life savings on Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado winning a Gold Glove award every season, and you would never go broke. That was the case once again Sunday, as Arenado took home his seventh straight Gold Glove award.

Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren is among those who have interviewed for the San Francisco Giants managerial position that was left vacant when Bruce Bochy retired following the season. Geren met with the team last week, and former Phillies manager Gape Kapler and Astros bench coach Joe Espada also are under consideration. Two people with direct knowledge of the search, speaking on condition of anonymity because the names weren't made public, confirmed those men had been considered.

Two-time All-Star Ron Fairly has died of cancer, Southern California announced Wednesday. The school said Fairly, a member of USC's Athletic Hall of Fame, died in Indian Wells, Calif. Fairly also played for the Montreal Expos (1969-74), St. Louis Cardinals (1975-76), Oakland Athletics (1976), Toronto Blue Jays (1977) and California Angels (1978).

Despite another rag-tag group of starting pitchers, the Athletics won 97 games for the second straight year. Marcus Semien was the team's best overall player, setting new career-highs in homers (33), RBI (92) and OPS (.892) while playing excellent defense at shortstop. Matt Chapman had some ups and downs, but still managed a career-best 36 homers and continued his Gold Glove play at third base.

Two Blue Jays fielders are in the running for the highest defensive award in the game.

Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley has been on both sides of the World Series — he's reveled in the biggest possible baseball win and he's experienced October heartbreak. Thirty years ago, his Oakland Athletics team beat the San Francisco Giants in a World Series most famous for being delayed by an earthquake. The year before that, he gave up one of the most famous World Series homers ever.

Editor's note: Over the next two weeks, we will examine the top 10 prospects in the A's organization. For each player, we will provide a scouting report and a realistic timetable for reaching the major leagues, as well as what he needs to do to stay there. No.

You've seen Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson steal bases and hit lead-off home runs and play baseball with more swagger than almost anyone. And now you'll get to see him rip open 30-year-old wax packs on “Old Baseball Cards,” our baseball-card driven walk down memory lane. With the 2019 World Series upon us, we're doing a World Series throwback and talking to members of the 1989 world champion Oakland Athletics about their win 30 years ago.

For the anniversary of one of the most memorable World Series, we've lined up three special episodes of “Old Baseball Cards” featuring stars of that 1989 Oakland A's championship team. To start, we're opening packs of 1989 Topps and Fleer with A's ace Dave Stewart, who was the World Series MVP that year and who threw a shutout in Game 1 of the series. Stewart leads off by finding a Giants player and shares lots of memories from there.

The Drug Enforcement Agency is continuing its probe into the opioids-related death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs and possible opioid abuse by players and employees. According to the LA Times, the DEA has interviewed six current or former Angels players as part of its investigation, including Matt Harvey, Noe Ramirez and Andrew Heaney. Harvey, who was released on July 21 and signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics a few weeks later, was with the Angels for only the 2019 season.

Oakland Athletics third base coach Matt Williams is going on an extended road trip, having agreed to a manage the Kia Tigers of the KBO League in South Korea. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Monday night that Williams received a three-year contract, and Williams confirmed via text message to NBC Sports Bay Area that he took the job. Williams, 53, has been Bob Melvin's third base coach in Oakland for two seasons.

Bruce Maxwell had an eventful three-year run with the Oakland A's to begin his major league career after he decided to kneel during the national anthem in 2017, becoming the first and only MLB player to do so. After struggling in 2018, Maxwell did not drum up interest as a free agent and instead spent the 2019 season in Mexico. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser caught up with Maxwell, who said he is still receiving criticism on social media: “I had a few people on Twitter saying, 'F— you, I still hope you die.

In a meeting last week, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred threatened that the Oakland A's would move to Las Vegas if the City of Oakland did not drop a lawsuit against Alameda County regarding a dispute over redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum property. Today Oakland's mayor confirmed the story. The A's, as you know, have been endeavoring to get a new ballpark for years and years.