An unnamed Houston Astros executive emailed team scouts in August 2017 to explore ways to steal signs from opposing teams, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich.
Rosenthal and Drellich obtained the email, which suggested both cameras and binoculars as potential options:
"One thing in specific we are looking for is picking up signs coming out of the dugout. What we are looking for is how much we can see, how we would log things, if we need cameras/binoculars, etc. So go to game, see what you can (or can't) do and report back your findings.