Atlanta Braves penalties are coming soon: here’s a best guess on what they might be

Making an Example?

That’s good, but it won’t be enough.  Let’s suppose that MLB wants to make a big statement here – one that involves taking Kevin Maitan away from Atlanta.  This’s what we’ve been fearing all along, of course.

Complicating matters is Maitan himself.  He already received $4.25 million in bonus money from the Braves.  Should he be cut loose, a feeding frenzy would ensue about 29 clubs vying for his talents – although MLB might insist on the new signing rules being followed.

Should Maitan then get another $3.2 million in bonus money from a new team?  That’s roughly what the Rangers, Yankees, and Twins could offer now – we know this from the pursuit of Shohei Otani that will shortly be underway.  That seems awfully generous for him to be paid twice – before he’s even played in 50 professional games.

Additionally, he’s already been with the organization for 16 months (though the Red Sox players taken away had been signed for 12 months themselves).

In my opinion, this could come down to the extent of other violations internationally – and we still don’t know that full story.

An apartment’s value (plus food, furnishings, perhaps clothing, utilities, etc.) amounts to just a few thousand dollars.  The Braves could argue that this was inconsequential to Maitan’s signing and that his agreement to live there amounts to a protection of their asset given the unrest in his native Venezuela.

Plus it wasn’t like he might have signed elsewhere at that point.  All of these international deals are sealed with handshake agreements well before the July 2 ‘start date’ each year.  That’s everybody – all teams do this.

That argument might not work, but heck yeah – I’d try it.

My real concern is the likely under-table-incentives going to trainers to steer multiple players toward Atlanta and/or the “bundling” violations that the Red Sox were nailed with.  That’s a speculative guess, but it makes sense… and would be in line with “worse than Boston” thoughts from others.

So I think (maybe “hope”?) that Maitan remains with the organization.  I might expect these penalties, though:

• 2 or 3 lesser international prospects removed from the club
• Ban on international signings for the 2018-19 period
• $10 million fine
• Additional “tax” penalty on the value of any payments/gifts/lodging made to any players prior to their signing.

If I’m wrong on this and MLB opts to make their ‘statement’ here (or if the violations are deemed too egregious to overlook), then Maitan would be taken away, declared a free agent and allowed to sign with any club.  The fine would then be eliminated or significantly reduced, but the 2018-19 ban probably would not.

Those are certainly significant penalties – and arguably made on top of the loss of 2 major team executives.