Former Atlanta Braves prospects begin signing elsewhere

Former Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella issues apology to fan, staff and other GM's

Two former Atlanta Braves prospects released by MLB signed new contracts, Gordon Blakeley seeks revenge and disgraced GM John Coppolella gives a public mea culpa.

Today seems to be a day for news about the scandal we all want to forget. Atlanta Braves former GM John Coppolella apologizes, Gordon Blakeley will speak to Liberty Media execs and two former Braves prospects sign contracts with new teams.

The signings weren’t a surprise nor is Blakeley’s visit to LMC. Coppolella statement was however, unexpected.

Exiled Atlanta Braves GM says I’m sorry

Coppolella sent Jerry Crasnick an email statement expressing embarrassment and humility but refused a request to answer questions. Crasnick’s piece contains the complete statement. The gist of it seems to be a wholehearted apology to all.

The former rising star of baseball leadership said he didn’t speak sooner because he was “devastated and embarrassed.”  He told Atlanta Braves fans he was “deeply sorry”  saying he was “heartbroken” at the damage done to the organization but accepted “full responsibility” for them.

Next came the full apology tour to other execs, teams and MLB and said he hoped others would learn from his mistakes.

". . .I hope that other people, regardless of their profession, use this as a cautionary tale when making their own business decisions. I have been disgraced and humbled, and I will strive for the rest of my life to live honorably so that this is not my defining moment."

Blakeley to blame high-ranking team officials

Last Friday David O’Brien writing for the AJC reported that Braves ousted special assistant and international scouting chief Gordon Blakeley seeks vengeance (Blakeley would say justice) from LMC.

He meets with LMC representative on Dec. 14 to lay out what he believes team officials not yet mentioned implicated, knew about the rule-breaking.

". . . Blakeley said he will discuss with Liberty Media officials what he said he told MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a Nov. 9 meeting in New York about the involvement and/or awareness of those other team officials in the infractions."

It’s hard to know what he said that LMC doesn’t already know. Early in the investigation we were told that LMC’s lawyers sat in on every interview. Perhaps he said things in a private meeting with Manfred that wasn’t considered an interview.

Whatever he has to say should be taken with a grain of salt and two aspirin. Blakeley is hardly pure as the driven snow.

Sins of the past?

Back in 2005 the White Sox began some international dealings that ended with three employees going to a federal penitentiary for some R&R. As a result, MLB started their own investigation and by 2009 the investigation spread to half-dozen or more teams including the Yankees.

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At that time Blakely was vice president of pro scouting with a focus on the international market for the Yankees.  As a result of MLB investigations into accusations of bonus skimming in his department, the Yankees fired:

• Director of Latin American scouting Carlos Ríos and
• Dominican Republic scouting director Ramón Valdivia.

It’s unlikely Blakeley has a smoking gun he can put in John Schuerholz’ hands regarding this.  MLB had reams of emails providing a paper-trail for the events investigated.

Blakeley met on multiple occasions with MLB investigators over the last two weeks of their work, effectively turning states evidence against the Braves for a lighter sentence.

Maybe he knows something MLB heard but failed to act on involving JS or Terry McGuirk. It’s hard to know what that might be, particularly with a Lawyer like Rob Manfred running MLB. According to O’Brien, McGuirk doesn’t seem bothered by this revelation.

"“Braves CEO Terry McGuirk said at a Wednesday breakfast with Braves season ticket holders at SunTrust Park, in a quote that an attendee posted on Twitter, that a “rogue employee” focusing on Dominican prospects would not bring down a proud franchise.”"

Atlanta Braves prospects find new homes

Early today we heard that two of the prospects released by MLB as punishment for those rule violations signed new deals; Yefri Del Rosario and Kevin Maitan

The Braves gave Del Rosaio a $1M signing bonus in 2016. Today he added another $650K to his bank account.

Last week the Braves traded Jim Johnson to the Angels along with $1.315M of international pol money. Today Jesse Sanchez tweeted that Maitan signed a with the Angels and received  $2.2MM. Irony is not dead.

Update, 7:45 pm CST: Per Jesse Chavez, another former Braves prospect has found a new team. Source: Catcher Abrahan Gutierrez has a $550K deal with the Phillies.

That’s a Wrap

As apologies go, Coppolella’s seemed genuine and contrite. Not that it makes any difference to Braves fans whose morale took a severe beating as a result of his scam.

Blakeley seems to fall into the same category as Jeff Wren. Wren carries a grudge about his treatment by the Braves with some justification – they fired him with a call to his cell while he was on the road scouting.

Wren tried – so far unsuccessfully – to get his story out. That indicates it lacks anything substantive other than his opinion and hearsay. Blakely appears in the same boat

Next: What AA wants . . .

While LMC will listen it’s hard to figure what they might do if the commissioner decided against taking action. McGuirk overruled JS by signing Alex Anthopoulus and giving him complete control of baseball ops relegating the new Hall of Fame executive to speaker on the rubber chicken circuit.

MLB confirmed that unlike the White Sox incident 10 years ago, the Braves front office broke no laws.  That means no criminal actions are likely and McGuirk himself seems safely ensconced at chairman.  Maybe he has something, probably he doesn’t.