Neck deep in the process of rebuilding an MLB franchise from scratch, the Atlanta Braves’ front office unexpectedly fell apart at the seams.
Rocked by scandal in the international market, the Atlanta Braves – one of baseball’s prize franchises – took a massive hit in the midst of the most difficult and delicate phase of construction.
Just as Atlanta fans, players and coaches were preparing to see what off-season moves would be made to sure up the organization as the rebuild finished up, their boss was forced to resign in scandal with certain punishment from Major League Baseball looming.
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When John Coppolella was forced out as general manager, he left Braves fans with a one step forward, two steps back sort of feeling. The dark times aren’t anywhere near over for the organization – and there could be a dark cloud hanging overhead for a while – but that doesn’t mean it will be difficult to secure a new person to lead the charge into a bright future.
Even in scandal, the Atlanta Braves franchise is still one of the better organizations in Major League Baseball, and is a prize ripe for the picking.
The good news is that if Atlanta’s remaining decision makers can weed out the dumb and desperate job seekers, only the smart and fearless will remain in the pool. That’s because it will take someone who isn’t afraid of adversity and a person that can see the glaring turnkey potential the Braves franchise offers them.
Sure, repercussions of Atlanta’s alleged international market cheating are still unknown, but even a worst case scenario doesn’t diminish an incredibly strong foundation.
Take away those questionable foreign signings, flush some fine money down the drain and give up some draft picks and it will hurt like the devil, but even tough sentence from the MLB offices leaves Atlanta in really, really good shape… relatively speaking.
Even if the powers that be bring the hammer down on Atlanta, the farm system is still incredibly strong and the big league club still has several key pieces of surplus that can serve as nice trade bait through the off-season and beyond.
Related Story: Investigation Update
Fines? A lot of cash on hand helps, but Freddie Freeman is locked down for the long term and the rest of the club is either expendable through negotiations or still so young that the big contracts are nowhere near in the short term.
Draft picks? A new GM would have to be more selective, supposing the organization loses draft picks as punishment, but the baseball draft is
so massive it can still be productive with a shortened selection. And in case nobody noticed.. Atlanta already has more really good farm hands – especially on the mound – that there are plenty of options for years and years to come.
Besides an embarrassingly good minor league system, a new Atlanta Braves general manager will inherit a brand new stadium, a brand new spring training facility already sorted out, the largest sports radio network in America and a loyal fan following salivating for a winning team.
Will there be growing pains for a new head man in Atlanta? Sure, it will likely be a terrifying leap to take into the unknown. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, however.
Next: The Scandal is still getting uglier
Perhaps the fear factor of it all will actually attract the guts it will take to pull the Braves out of the dark and take the very short trip back onto the right path.