Pirates fire Director of Latin American Scouting over improper payment

The Pittsburgh Pirates fired Director of Latin American Scouting Rene Gayo after an investigation by Major League Baseball determined he collected improper payment, major-league sources told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

"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," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said.

"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."

MLBs investigation revealed that several years ago, Gayo received money involving the sale of at least one player from a professional team in Mexico. The Pirates, meanwhile, will avoid discipline from the league.

Gayo was hired by the Pirates in 2004, and helped recruit and eventually sign outfielders Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco out of the Dominican Republic in 2007 and 2009 respectively.