Atlanta Braves top prospect Kevin Maitan ”could be declared a free agent”
By Jeff Schafer
Braves news getting worse by the hour
The information will continue to trickle in about the Atlanta Braves and former General Manager John Coppolella. We don’t know much as of right now, but we all do have many questions. What exactly happened behind closed doors and how will this effect us in the future?
If you’re playing catch-up, here’s the jist of what we know so far…John Coppolella and Assistant GM Gordon Blakeley resigned on Monday morning due to a breach of MLB’s international signing rules.
12:48pm ET – Ken Rosenthal puts out a tweet saying BREAKING: Braves GM John Coppolella expected to resign today
1:01pm ET – Mark Bowman tweets Braves general manager John Coppolella has resigned. An immediate reason was not provided
1:06pm ET – Rosenthal tweets confirm Coppolella resignation, citing breach of rules in international market
3:12pm ET – Bowman informs us…sounds like MLB’s investigation into what might have been a minor matter led to the discovery of the major international market infractions
Hart has told the media that Coppy committed a “major league baseball rules violation that has to do with the international marketplace.”
Hart went on to say the MLB “dug up a number of things that were quite serious, as far as the MLB ruless” in its investigation.
This “investigation” that the MLB has started has went back roughly two years.
We all want this to fly over like a flyover at a sporting event, but I’m not sure it’s going to. Could this effect players within our organization? Holy cow, it may.
Then, MLB columnist at Yahoo Sports, Jeff Passan sent this shockwave out Monday night.
Sources: MLB is investigating Atlanta's signing of top prospect Kevin Maitan. If improprieties are found, he could be declared a free agent.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
NO, NO, NOOOO!! Don’t take Maitan away from us…we need this!
We’ve seen issues like this arise in the past, most recently with the Boston Red Sox in 2015-2016. The Sox signed five players that year, but they had a maximum spending of $300,000 bonus for each player.
More from Braves News
- Braves News: New Year’s Eve comes with several questions about the 2023 Braves
- Braves News: How the Braves got their name, mailbag, more
- Braves News: Atlanta makes a pair of trades, prospect debuts, more
- Braves News: Atlanta Braves acquire Eli White from the Texas Rangers
- Atlanta Braves Swing Trade with the New York Yankees for Lucas Luetge
The Sox funneled money through the signings of other players to higher ranked players. A sly move if they got away with it, but the Red Sox were caught.
Folks are saying that the Braves problems are “significantly bigger” than the Red Sox issues.
Maitan was signed by the Braves out of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela on July 2, 2016 for $4.25 million. He was supposedly 16-years-old at the time of the signing (not saying that has anything to do with it, but a rumor I read on twitter).
In 2016, Atlanta signed 13 total international players. BUT, the Braves weren’t capped off at the $300,000 that season. They went into that maximum for 2017. We had the money there and we spent it. That’s why it could be something else.
In Passan’s article he writes the below…
"The Braves’ troubles could extend far deeper, according to sources. The investigation remains open and is expected to look into the signing of top prospect Kevin Maitan, a 17-year-old shortstop who received a $4.25 million bonus last year. If improprieties are discovered with Maitan’s signing, he, too, could be declared a free agent, according to multiple sources."
In Maitan’s first season as a professional ball player, he slashed .241/.290/.340 with two home runs, one triple, eight doubles, 18 RBIs and two stolen bases in 42 games played. He played with the Danville Braves and with the GULF Braves.
Going into 2017, he was ranked as Baseball America’s #77 prospect and MLB.com as their #32 ranked prospect. On MLB Pipeline, he’s currently ranked as the Braves #5 top prospect.
With the MLB investigation, if they find any wrongdoings in his signing, the Braves and Maitan’s contract could be terminated. This will allow Maitan to become a MLB free agent.
The Score referenced this in their article which stood out to me…
"…prior to signing with Atlanta, Maitan was living in a two-bedroom Florida apartment with another player the Braves also eventually signed. It isn’t clear, however, if the organization was paying for either player’s stay in the U.S."
The Braves can’t lose this guy. I really hope it doesn’t come to this.
Next: Braves under investigation #CoppyGate
The 6’2″, 190-pound switch-hitting shortstop will be a stud within the Braves organization. He hits for power and average and it way above average on defense.
Hopefully this doesn’t effect our future superstar.
ONE MORE THING
This is very current, but I’m hearing that Braves draft picks are now in question…including 2017 2nd round pick, Drew Waters.
Read this paragraph by Passan…
"Braves allegedly offered under-the-table benefits to sign for under the slot value. In interviews with the league, Coppolella and Keith Grunewald, Waters’ agent, denied the allegations, saying that Coppolella’s offer of a car to bridge the difference between the $1.5 million he signed for and the $1.675 million slot value was made in jest, according to sources"
Smokes, this is getting rough now by the minute! This isn’t looking good for our minor league system if these guys are taken away from the organization.