The MLB has completed its investigation of violations of rules concerning Atlanta Braves’ international player obligations and imposed severe penalties. The Braves are losing 13 international prospects and the main culprit for the violations, former General Manager John Coppolella, has been banned for life.
MLB’s investigation has shown that the Braves circumvented the rules for international amateur players’ obligations from 2015 to 2017. Accordingly, during the signing period 2015-16, the Braves distributed more money than they were allowed to pass on to numerous international talents by hiring an international professional player and using him as a middleman to give five amateur players more money.
If the money had been paid by conventional means, the organization would have overdrawn its signing pool by more than five percent and would have been limited as a sanction to $300,000 per player by June 2019.
As a direct result of these violations, the league cancelled nine players’ contracts: Top Infield Prospect Kevin Maitan from Venezuela (Signing Bonus: $4.25 million), Catcher Abrahan Gutierrez (Venezuela/3.53 million), Shortstop Yunior Severino (Dome. 1.9 million), pitcher Juan Contreras (Dom. Rep. /1.2 million), Shortstop Yenci Pena (Dom. Rep. /1.05 million), Outfielder Juan Carlos Negret (Cuba/1 million), Shortstop Livan Soto (Venezuela/1 million) and pitcher Guillermo Zuniga (Colombia/350,000).
Contracts signed by a further three players, each of whom had signed for $300,000, were also terminated because the Braves had paid additional money to their agents and thus illegally inflated the bonus payments: Outfielder Antonio Sucre (Venezuela), Outfielder Brandol Mezquita (Dome). Rep.) and Shortstop Angel Rojas (Dom. Rep.).
In addition, the deal was also cancelled by Korean shortstop Ji-Hwan Bae, who also received $300,000 in cash, because both sides had agreed to make extra payments over and above the contract.
All of these players become Free Agents and are allowed – according to the rules – from 5. December to 15. We will negotiate and sign new agents with all teams of the league on January 1,2010.
Furthermore, the Braves are no longer allowed to use the 14-year-old Shortstop Robert Puason (Dom. Rep.) in 2019 when he reaches the age limit. The Braves had already reached a verbal agreement with him. His agent had negotiated “inflated” hand money for six other players.
The Braves will also lose their third round pick in the upcoming draft and will be allowed to distribute a maximum of $10,000 in hand money during the signing period 2019-20. In addition, their bonus pool will be reduced by 50 percent in 2020-21, while they will be allowed to spend only $300,000 per player until 2019.
Commissioner Rob Manfred did not regard the loss of the players as a sufficient punishment and said:”further sanctions are in place to punish the club for the violations committed by its employees.”
Manfred also announced that he intended to “punish other employees of the international baseball businesses of the Braves who participated in this misdeed”.
In addition to Coppolella, the former Braves Special Assistant, Gordon Blakeley, head of the international scouting department, was suspended for a year.
This article was published without prior view by the Major League Baseball.