Big and strange stuff happening in the Braves front office, where they’d recently been extremely successful in the international market, yielding one of the best farm systems in baseball.
But, um, about that:
BREAKING: #Braves GM John Coppolella expected to resign today, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 2, 2017
Resignation of Coppolella believed to stem in part from issues with #Braves’ talent acquisition in Latin America.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 2, 2017
#Braves special asst Blakeley also resigning, sources tell The Athletic. MLB investigating team for circumvention of int’l signing rules.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 2, 2017
The Braves organization has been a wasteland of infighting in recent weeks, according to numerous sources. Chaos centered around Coppolella.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
MLB was looking into everything from Braves' int'l operations to its domestic draft to Coppolella's treatment of Braves employees.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
To put it mildly, John Coppolella was not well-liked among his peers. Well-loathed would be more accurate. A lot of schadenfreude right now.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
Who knows what’s going on, but it must have been pretty bad, as Bob Nightengale says Coppolella is not expected to resurface in MLB.
I’d imagine the particulars will come out soon enough, but it’s a reminder that, when it comes to international shenanigans, MLB will investigate and pounce where appropriate. Teams were already on notice when it comes to Shohei Otani’s possible leap to MLB this offseason under the IFA rules, but if the Braves are about to get popped for serious IFA violations, then it’ll be all the more warning.
We’ll see what happens. It’s possible that signings will be voided, in addition to punishments levied.
The other implication here is that there is now at least one high-profile front office opening in MLB, and up-and-coming talent will be sought after to fill the role.
UPDATE: Not sure if this means solely with respect to Coppolella, solely with respect to the Braves (but in other areas), or with respect to the IFA market as a whole. Either way, it sounds ominous:
Coppolella's breach of international rules is "the tip of the iceberg,'' said one source. MLB looking into infractions in multiple areas.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) October 2, 2017