Red Sox admit illegal sign-stealing

NEW YORK — The first-place Red Sox reportedly admitted to Major League Baseball that they improperly used electronic devices to steal signs from the Yankees.

The New York Times reported Tuesday the Red Sox used a watch to relay signs by the Yankees catchers during a series last month at Fenway Park.

The Times, according to unidentified sources, said the MLB probe started after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman filed a complaint with the commissioner’s office that included video. The newspaper said the video showed a member of the Red Sox training staff looking at his Apple Watch in the dugout and relaying a message to players.

Sign stealing is allowed, but electronic assistance is not.

The newspaper said the Red Sox told MLB investigators that manager John Farrell, general manager Dave Dombrowski and other team executives were not aware of the scheme.

Commissioner Rob Manfred, who was at Fenway Park on Tuesday night as part of a previously planned visit, said he wanted to get the matter resolved quickly. He didn’t comment about possible penalties.

“We are 100 percent comfortable that it is not an ongoing issue — that if it happened, it is no longer happening,” he said. Farrell said he knew the rule. “Electronic devices are not to be used in the dugout,” he said before the Red Sox hosted the Blue Jays. “But beyond that, the only thing I can say it’s a league matter at this point.”

The Times said the Red Sox told investigators that club personnel watched instant-replay video and then electronically sent pitch signals to team trainers in the dugout, who relayed the information to players.