Braves GM+ other braves employees have resigned over circumvention of int’l signing rules.
- Thread starter soxhop411
- Start date
So are they resigning in protest or because they were the ones circumventing the rules?
EDIT: They were the ones breaking rules.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/john-coppolella-resigns-as-braves-gm-after-breaching-mlb-international-player-rules/
EDIT: They were the ones breaking rules.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/john-coppolella-resigns-as-braves-gm-after-breaching-mlb-international-player-rules/
Coppolella may have been a few steps closer to the door than other GMs, thanks to the ongoing feud between Schuerholz and Coppolella/Hart.
Kevin Maitan may be declared a Free Agent. IF so, the Sox should be all in on this kid. He looks great.
I'm guessing the Sox would be long shots. There are a few teams who can offer substantially more money unless he waits until the next signing period to sign again.
I believe the Sox players that were released last year went back into the pool.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/07/red-sox-international-penalties.html
We should find out which prospects are free agents again in the next couple of days.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-to-meet-with-braves-players-on-tuesday/#xrrVl8Af7CXhGlur.97
https://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-to-meet-with-braves-players-on-tuesday/#xrrVl8Af7CXhGlur.97
The Braves suck so bad that they can't even cheat well.
But at least they planned out traffic well for their new stadium.
Oh...wait.
Fuck Atlanta.
But at least they planned out traffic well for their new stadium.
Oh...wait.
Fuck Atlanta.
Anything is possible. There are still a handful of teams with a whole lot more money available, you have Ohtani, the new Cuban FA OF, and the braves guys
Looks like
Texas 3.535M
NYY 3,25
Twins 3245
Pitt 2.67
Miami 1.74
Seattle 1.57
Philly 900K
Mil 765
Ariz 731
Balt 660
Bos 462
TB 440
Boston might be able to trade for more money, but they have already acquired some money, so unclear how much more they could get.
I guess the Yankees got another 250K from Miami today, (I have not updated the chart)
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If I'm Maitan, I'm taking the most money on the table. He's already got 4.25 million from his deal with the Braves. If he can land 3.5 more, that's a pretty good hedge against flaming out and never landing a big free agent contract (or arb awards leading up to that).
There's very little reason for him to pick a team that isn't at or near the top of the list for dollars offered. If it's the Yankees and the Rangers offering the same amount, of course, he can pick the team he thinks gives him the biggest chances at future earnings (probably the Yankees at that point), but other than that scenario... show me the money.
Unless MLB rules to grant the Red Sox a "credit" of some sort for the loss of Daniel Flores (unlikely IMO), I don't think they'll land anyone of significant note. They might be able to grab a lower tier guy with the $500k they have left, though.
There's very little reason for him to pick a team that isn't at or near the top of the list for dollars offered. If it's the Yankees and the Rangers offering the same amount, of course, he can pick the team he thinks gives him the biggest chances at future earnings (probably the Yankees at that point), but other than that scenario... show me the money.
Unless MLB rules to grant the Red Sox a "credit" of some sort for the loss of Daniel Flores (unlikely IMO), I don't think they'll land anyone of significant note. They might be able to grab a lower tier guy with the $500k they have left, though.
Interesting tweet from Chris Hatfield of Sox Prospects.
https://www.foxsports.com/south/story/atlanta-braves-mlb-investigation-international-penalties-kevin-maitan-112117
Edit 2: Looks like the restrictions are covered in this BA piece: https://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-removing-prospects-braves/#J1C2zM3dy6seehMZ.97
Edit: And here's a rundown of the full punishment which is... severe.
https://www.foxsports.com/south/story/atlanta-braves-mlb-investigation-international-penalties-kevin-maitan-112117
Sounds like 13 players in all will be released into the IFA pool.
Edit 2: Looks like the restrictions are covered in this BA piece: https://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-removing-prospects-braves/#J1C2zM3dy6seehMZ.97
So the Red Sox would be able to offer Maitan about $700,000.00 if this is accurate.
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Enough that John Hart took the next bus out of town.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/mlb-announces-permanent-lifetime-ban-for-john-coppolella-braves-gm-rumors.html
"The investigation also determined that the Braves: (i) agreed to sign six players to inflated signing bonuses pursuant to an agreement with prospect Robert Puason’s agent in exchange for a commitment that Puason would sign with the Club in the 2019-20 signing period; and (ii) offered prospect Ji-Hwan Bae extra-contractual compensation. In order to remedy these violations, I am prohibiting the Club from signing Robert Puason when he becomes eligible to sign, and disapproving the contract between Bae and the Braves, which has not yet become effective.
While the remedies discussed above will deprive the Braves of the benefits of their circumvention, I believe that additional sanctions are warranted to penalize the Club for the violations committed by its employees. Accordingly, the Braves will be prohibited from signing any international player for more than $10,000 during the 2019-20 signing period, which is the first signing period in which the Braves are not subject to any signing restrictions under our rules; and the Braves’ international signing bonus pool for the 2020-21 signing period will be reduced by 50 percent.
The investigation also determined that the Braves offered impermissible benefits, which were never provided, to a player they selected in the First-Year Player Draft in an attempt to convince him to sign for a lower bonus. As a penalty for the Club’s attempted circumvention involving a draft selection, the Braves will forfeit their third-round selection in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.
With respect to individual discipline, former Braves General Manager John Coppolella will be placed on the permanently ineligible list, effective immediately. Former Braves Special Assistant Gordon Blakeley will be suspended for a period of one year, effective immediately, and may not perform services for any MLB Club during his suspension. I intend to discipline other Braves’ International Baseball Operations employees who participated in the misconduct after the completion of our internal procedures. My staff will speak to the Players Association and officials in the Dominican Republic regarding appropriate consequences for the representatives of the players who intentionally participated in schemes to circumvent our rules, none of whom are certified by the Players Association."
Here's the CBS piece I just read: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-comes-down-hard-on-braves-bans-former-gm-everything-you-need-to-know/?linkId=45016545
The money quote (I think) about Copollela and what the Braves were doing:
The Redsox were guilty of doing this and there were no life time bans. They just lost 5 players and couldn't sign anyone last year.
What makes it worse than what the Sox did was that the Braves used bundling in the 2015-2016 period to stay under the limit on players that would have otherwise triggered the two year restriction, then blew past the limit in 2016-2017, when they signed Maitan and others they couldn't have if restricted.
They were also working on more bundling shenanigans in to lock up a prospect in 2019, and while they might have been able to enter a plea of "everyone was doing it then" for their actions in 2015, which was concurrent with the Sox's cheating, there's certainly no such excuse now.
They were also working on more bundling shenanigans in to lock up a prospect in 2019, and while they might have been able to enter a plea of "everyone was doing it then" for their actions in 2015, which was concurrent with the Sox's cheating, there's certainly no such excuse now.
Ben Badler talking about this on twitter right now. Some really interesting information:
The money quotes for those that can't click through and read the short thread...
The money quotes for those that can't click through and read the short thread...
I asked him what the mechanism was for deferring. He responded with:
Apparently this is unique to this particular situation. They created a bunch of rules specifically for this. So this isn't some hidden rule tucked away in the CBA that would allow for a deferment in a normal IFA signing.
But could a team use money from this year's pool to sign one player, and next year's pool to sign a separate player?
Badler said yes when someone asked if the Yankees could sign Ohtani, then turn around and sign Maitan for next year's money. (which is probably the scenario you were wondering about)
And Manfred announced he would drop the hammer on anyone doing it again, and he just did.
Edit: Or perhaps that was the sign stealing warning. Regardless, Manfred seems to be willing to step up the penalties when teams continue to break the rules after being told not to. I’m okay with that. And it looks like the Braves situation was worse in terms of scope, plus violating the rules on signing players under 16.
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I have to imagine the penalty for Coppolella involves lying to MLB or something like that, on top of the shenanigans involving prospects.
Everyone was doing it a few years ago, but after Boston got the public hammer everyone was put on notice to knock it off. As that was happening the Braves were using the tactic to help set themselves up for future signing periods, were found to have already put together such deals for amateur players not yet eligible to be signed.
Then to top it all off they reached a side deal with a draftee to get him to sign below slot so that they could use that money elsewhere. And all this after the commissioner had told people to cut the shit. The death penalty was pretty well merited in this case.
Forget about Boston, I’ve seen people making some good points about Coppy being be banned giving them a reason to institute an International draft using that as one excuse. Also Cameron, in his chat today, pointed out that this sends a message to anybody that is going to negotiate with Ohtani.