re: The ATL Offseason Thread: Tears of Coppy Edition

Coppy is a fraud

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Major League Baseball is expected to hammer the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday for circumventing rules governing the signing of international amateurs, declaring 12 minor league players, including vaunted prospect Kevin Maitan, free agents

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Atlanta, limited to spending a maximum of $300,000 for a player in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 signing periods, will face severe penalties in the two periods thereafter, according to sources. In 2019-20, Atlanta will be restricted from spending more than $10,000 per player – and will be banned from signing Robert Puason, the 14-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic with whom the Braves had struck a deal deemed illegal because of his age. Come 2020-21, the Braves will lose half their signing-bonus pool, which is expected to be $4.75 million.

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In addition, MLB will dock the Braves their third-round pick in the 2018 draft after the investigation found the organization had offered extra benefits to Drew Waters, the 41st overall pick in the 2017 draft, according to sources. He will remain with Atlanta.

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The loss of the draft pick, the international sanctions and the free agency of the dozen players – including catcher Abrahan Gutierrez, who received a $3.5 million signing bonus, pitcher Juan Contreras and third basemen Yenci Pena, each of whom received more than $1 million to sign, and Korean shortstop Ji-hwan Bae, a 2017 signee – will erode the organizational depth Atlanta had fostered during its rebuild. The Braves’ farm system remains one of the game’s best nonetheless, led by 19-year-old center fielder Ronald Acuna, the MVP of the Arizona Fall League, and a plethora of pitchers, including Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, Luiz Gohara, Joey Wentz, Ian Anderson, Kolby Allard, Max Fried and Bryse Wilson.

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Jeff Passan gives full details

Any word on if Maitan is staying?

Do we have the chance to resign?

I think I read where we would be capped to $10K per player in the 2019-2020 period. Lost this year's 3rd round pick too. I cannot imagine that there would be any way that we would be able to re-sign any of the 12 prospects that we are losing.

It looks like we get to keep Waters though.

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Maitan is gone.

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GAH

The fact that we get to keep 1st and 2nd round 2018 picks AND keep Waters honestly really softens the blow of this.

Losing any of the 3 would have been awful.

So the Braves were pretty much given the international market death penalty?

Yes

Jim Johnson and pool money we can't use traded to the angels for a non prospect