On Tuesday, Major League Baseball came down hard on the Braves and their former general manager John Coppolella for improprieties when it comes to international player signings. We've already got a full story, but it's pretty long, this is our offseason and it's a holiday week. Let's give you the Cliffs Notes version.
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- The Braves were guilty of "bundling" signing bonuses to international players. Thanks to having previously exceeded their spending pool in years prior, the Braves were limited to just $300,000 bonuses per player. Instead, they would give, for example, two different players $300,000 each, though the overwhelming majority of the $600K total would go to one player while the lesser player still got more than he would have on his own.
- MLB found violations by the Braves with 12 international signees, all of whom have now become free agents (still restricted by international spending pool limits). Teams can use either their remaining 2017-18 pool money or dip into 2018-19 pool money to sign these players.
- The biggest name prospect now again available to sign is shortstop Kevin Maitan, 17, from Venezuela.
- The Braves are further prohibited from signing any international player for more than $10,000 during the 2019-2020 signing period. Their signing pool in the 2020-21 period will be reduced by 50 percent.
- The Braves have forfeited their third-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.
- Former Braves GM Coppolella has been placed on the permanently ineligible ("banned from baseball") list.
- Former Braves special assistant Gordon Blakeley has been suspended for one year.
- More Braves International Baseball Operations employees will face discipline once Manfred and his staff complete their "internal procedures."
Again, there's a full story, but these are the key points.