Alex Cora told ESPN he deserved punishment for his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme, but he was far from a ‘sole mastermind’ of the operation.

Former Red Sox manager and Astros bench coach Alex Cora told ESPN that while he deserved punishment for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scheme in 2017, he rejects the idea that he was the “sole mastermind” behind it.

“There has been a narrative out there of what happened. Ever since mid-November until the commissioner announced the results of the Red Sox investigation, I have read many things that are true and many others that are not,” Cora told ESPN’s Marly Rivera. “Out of this whole process, if there is one thing that I completely reject and disagree with is people within the Astros’ organization singling me out, particularly [former general manager] Jeff Luhnow, as if I were the sole mastermind. The commissioner’s report sort