After breaking MLB international regulations, John Coppolella steps down as general manager of the Atlanta Braves.

 

 

 

 

The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday that general manager John Coppolella has resigned.

Following Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Braves for breaking laws pertaining to the foreign player market, he resigned.

The president of baseball operations for the Braves, John Hart, stated in a written statement that “Major League Baseball is investigating the incident with our full cooperation and assistance.” “Until the inquiry is over, we won’t be making any other comments.”

Gordon Blakeley, the team’s chief of foreign scouting and special assistant to the general manager, has also left.

Hart will assume general manager responsibilities while the organization looks for a successor.

Following the 2015 season, 38-year-old Coppolella was elevated to general manager under Hart. He was heavily involved in trades that included closer Craig Kimbrel, outfielders Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, shortstop Andrelton Simmons, and pitcher Shelby Miller.

Before signing with the Braves organization in 2007, he started his baseball career in 2000 as an operations assistant with the New York Yankees.

In recent years, MLB has acted quickly to punish clubs that have disregarded foreign signing regulations. Five of the Boston Red Sox’s prospects were declared free agents following an MLB investigation that found the team overvalued peripheral prospects in Venezuela by signing them to “package agreements” in an attempt to acquire more notable prospects. The Red Sox were prohibited from signing players during the 2016–17 signing season.

The Braves recently concluded their inaugural campaign at SunTrust Park, which was recently built. The Braves finished 72-90 this season when they were rebuilding.