It's been over eight years since former Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella was banned for life after MLB found several infractions into illegal signings of international players. Although Coppolella was eventually reinstated by MLB three years ago, he kept a low profile.
On Thursday morning, however, Baseball America published an article, written by Coppolella himself, announcing he was joining the publication as a contributor, and also revealing that he had been working behind the scenes in sports in the past few years.
John Coppolella returns to baseball eight years after ban
Since getting banned from baseball, Coppolella has taken an odd route to get back into the game. At the time he was reinstated, he had worked for two time-share companies in Florida.
However, since the reinstatement, it appears he's returned to the sports world, with the former Braves general manager writing that he did draft analysis for an NBA team that recently won the championship, as well as working as a consultant for a 2025 MLB playoff team, though he didn't reveal which teams he worked for.
Apparently, Coppolella decided to go to the Winter Meetings, ran into J.J. Cooper, the Editor-In-Chief of Baseball America, and after talking for a while, decided to see if he could join the publication. With Baseball America, Coppolella plans to analyze the way teams are being built and how they're preparing for the future.
It is a little shocking to see the disgraced former GM work his way back into baseball, especially considering how many rules he circumvented in such a high-profile role with the Braves to add prospects that didn't even pan out.
Of course, Coppolella was reinstated, and sources reported that he was remorseful for the actions he took while he was general manager of the Braves. He was the youngest general manager in franchise history, so there's no doubt that he's knowledgeable about the game, and Baseball America certainly knows that.
It will certainly be interesting to see what insights Coppolella has to offer.