{"id":9321,"date":"2017-10-02T14:57:34","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T18:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=9321"},"modified":"2017-10-02T14:57:34","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T18:57:34","slug":"braves-gm-john-coppolella-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2017\/10\/02\/braves-gm-john-coppolella-resigns\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella Resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atlanta Braves<\/a> general manager John Coppolella<\/strong> has resigned, effectively immediately, in a stunning development that launches the team into an offseason of uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella Resigns<\/h2>\n

Two years and one day after his promotion to general manager, Coppolella departs amid reports of organizational infighting and impropriety in the Braves\u2019 international recruiting efforts.<\/p>\n

“Major League Baseball is investigating the matter with our full cooperation and support,” John Hart<\/strong>, Braves President of Baseball Operations, said in an official news release<\/a>. “We will not be issuing any further comment until the investigation is complete.”<\/p>\n

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Atlanta Braves General Manager John Coppolella has resigned from his position, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com\/lOQZEkw8Ur<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 2, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The release cites “a breach of Major League Baseball rules regarding the international player market” as the catalyst for Copollela\u2019s resignation. Gordon Blakely<\/strong>, special assistant to the GM, reportedly will also resign<\/a>. Hart will assume the role of Braves GM in the meantime until a replacement is announced.<\/p>\n

Frustrations have reportedly been mounting for months. The Athletic\u2019s Ken Rosenthal<\/strong> reported on the team\u2019s front office reorganization<\/a> in late August, and Yahoo Sports\u2019 Jeff Passan<\/strong> paints in a series of tweets today an apparent lack of favor among Coppolella\u2019s contemporaries.<\/p>\n

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Numerous issues with John Coppolella came up as the league looked into the situation. At least one anonymous complaint was filed with MLB.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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MLB was looking into everything from Braves’ int’l operations to its domestic draft to Coppolella’s treatment of Braves employees.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The Braves organization has been a wasteland of infighting in recent weeks, according to numerous sources. Chaos centered around Coppolella.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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To put it mildly, John Coppolella was not well-liked among his peers. Well-loathed would be more accurate. A lot of schadenfreude right now.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The news casts a dark shadow on the team\u2019s improvements in 2017 and raises questions about its recent efforts to revitalize its farm system. Under Coppolella\u2019s direction, the Braves have made a bevy of moves to cash in aging or peaking roster assets for talent depth and payroll flexibility. As part of that process, Atlanta has notably been among the most prolific MLB teams engaged in the market for international prospects, repeatedly collecting international bonus pool slots in trades to apply to the team\u2019s available signing budget.<\/p>\n

Household names among Braves fans like current second baseman Ozzie Albies<\/a><\/strong> (Cura\u00e7ao) and two touted Venezuelan players \u2013 power-hitting outfielder Ronald Acuna<\/a><\/strong> and shortstop prodigy Kevin Maitain<\/strong> \u2013 were signed through the international free agent (IFA) process, among several other prospects in the Braves\u2019 pipeline.<\/p>\n

Atlanta has been in the ‘penalty box’ for overspending its allotment on international prospects during the 2016 international signing period, when they were the publicly prohibitive favorites to sign Maitan before the signing period even began on July 2.<\/p>\n

Coppolella joined Atlanta as director of baseball operations in 2006 after six years with the New York Yankees<\/a> organization. He was promoted to assistant general manager in 2012 under former general manager Frank Wren<\/strong> and held the position when Hart served as the team\u2019s interim following Wren\u2019s dismissal.<\/p>\n

While Coppolella\u2019s departure casts doubt on the team\u2019s immediate future, both in terms of looming penalties from MLB and in the resolution of manager Brian Snitker<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s status, many of the Braves rising talent \u2013 Acuna included \u2013 should factor into the continuing maturation process as the team looks to contend next season.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>