Atlanta Braves under investigation John Coppolella resigns

Multiple sources are reporting Atlanta Braves General Manager John Coppolella and Assistant GM Gordon Blakeley resigned this morning due to a breach of MLB’s international signing rules.

As first reported by Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) Atlanta Braves GM resigned early this morning as a result of breach baseball’s international signing rules.

Special assistant to Coppolella Gordon Blakeley resigned as well per Rosenthal (Twitter link).

The Braves formally announced the resignation midmorning.

What we know

The specific rules involved aren’t yet known and the MLB investigation is still ongoing per Rosenthal speaking of MLB Network’s High Heat just after noon.   Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link) that numerous violations came up as MLB reviewed the situation.

He went on to say someone had filed an anonymous complaint about the Braves with the league. Whether the complaint was the genesis of the investigation is not known at this writing.

About a month ago Alan wrote about reports from Rosenthal of internal unrest. Two weeks after that he Alan wrote in the Morning Chop about changes in the front office structure but the reports still appeared to be just rumors. Today Passan tweeted calling the front office discord “chaos” centered on Coppollela.

Passan’s sources say (Twitter link) that so far there’s been little evidence to back up the accusations against Coppolella adding that the investigation centers on covers both domestic and international drafts as well as allegations about the GM’s treatment of employees. He goes on to say Coppy was very unpopular.

Joel Sherman says other GM’s weren’t his buddies either.

What we don’t know yet

According to David O’Brien the Braves haven’t announced replacements which make sense; they’ve barely had time to breath. John Heyman tweets that Hart is not going and will take over the reins until they decide on a successor. Hart staying is not news. Braves President Terry McGuirk said as much in an interview I wrote about last week.

In the past there have been similar investigations into the Nationals and Red Sox with personnel involved staying in one case and resigning in the other. Bon Nightengale tweets that this probably end Coppolella’s involvement with MLB.  That probably goes for Blakeley as well, he was Coppy’s mentor with the Yankees.

We also have no idea what rules may have been infringed and to what extent.  In August 2014 MLB made changes to the rules that prohibited young players from being at a team facility until they are 16 years old or until six months before they become eligible to sign.

The amount a team may spend has also been drastically reduced in recent years. The manipulation of those limits through piggy backing is what got the Red Sox in trouble in 2015. Baseball America wrote about how a team could circumvent the bonus rules at the time.

"The most obvious route. . (is) a package deal. Take a player for July 2 you want to sign for $2 million, but give $1.5 million . . .give $500,000 to another player from the same trainer before (the next)  July 2. Prior . . .so you save half a million dollars from your 2012-13 bonus pool."

What we suspect

There’s little to go on at this point and it’s unwise to jump to conclusions but there are some things of note.  Former Tomahawk Take minor league and draft specialist Ben Chase says he believes piggybacking could be at the heart of this investigation.

"he Braves accumulated what has been noted to be an incredible international class last season. Players who were signed to lesser amounts have come out and blown up, like Jeffrey Ramos. While it’d be something that would have hit already if it was Maitan, don’t be surprised if some of the under-belly of that class ends up being declared FA much like Boston had happen a couple years back."

Baseball America ask MLB about punishments for such things and were told:

"we asked Major League Baseball what the league would do if a team tried that type of package deal. The response was that the commissioner’s office would view it as a circumvention of the bonus pools and would respond with strict penalties."

Instead of punishing the teams – at least publicly they approved the contracts and said nothing.  The Braves are currently restricted to a $300K bonus for the next two years as a result of overspending their slots last year. If this is the cause, no one can predict the punishment.

Correction. The teams weren’t punished initially but according to the Boston Globe a later investigation MLB cracked down in an unprecedented way.

"Five Red Sox prospects were declared free agents Friday and the team is prohibited from signing any international amateur players until July 2, 2017. This is the first time MLB has taken players away from a team."

The player’s were still 17 years old and a long way from the majors but a couple were really good – but not superstar – prospects.

O’Brien says (Twitter link) thinking right now is  currently signed players won’t be affected

Aftershocks

This happens in will be a transitional post season for the Atlanta Braves. Changes at the managerial and coaching level are likely and trades were most certainly going to happen to strength the roster.

Right now the front office is in full damage control mode.  Expect to see JS, Cox and Terry McGuirk try to get out in front of the storm and calm the fans. If Hank Aaron is up to it he’ll be out there too as will Dale Murphy, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz if he’s contractually allowed to do so.

The perceived power struggle between the Hart/Coppolella front office and the old guard of John Schuerholz and Bobby cox could now tilt back to the old guard; teams get conservative when big trouble hits.

Thought rumors appeared almost immediately, Dayton Moore is not returning. He’s happy in KC and just extended there. Hart’s next choice will probably be someone he knows and worked with in the past and trusts implicitly.

The draft and international signing period in 2018 will surely be affected, the extent is anyone’s guess right now.

That’s A Wrap . . . for now

What a mess. As I noted when the first Rosenthal piece broke, it’s pretty easy to see how Coppy could rub people the wrong way.  His ego is huge and his pride carries it on its back.

This was obvious when he was visibly angry when everyone didn’t take his first move as perfection and wanted explanations. He gave a few – mostly spin – and has refrained from such outbursts since.

Coppolella is done in baseball just as Jim Bowden was done after the Nationals fiasco.

I think this makes it less likely Snitker is replaced and that’s too bad; he’s just not up to it. O’Brien tweeted those are his thoughts too.

If they do change Perez becomes favorite due to the Cox connection but Washington and Hart are close too so who knows.

Next: The Knockahoma on Snitker

My experience with investigators and inspectors is that once they start looking they always find something. Inviting them in is never a great option.

The truly sad thing for me is the negative light it shines on the Braves just as the young stars are about to emerge. Fortunately the players are above the noise and once the season starts their play will once again be the big concern.  Right now I need a drink.