Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: this is ugly

This is not the ‘Braves Way’, and though it may still take weeks to unravel this Gordian knot, MLB will continue to do this.  Fundamental changes and reforms will come – plus punishments.

You didn’t really think that yesterday’s Atlanta Braves news would be all of the news, right?

More details continue to trickle out from various sources, and a picture is beginning to emerge… one of a man obsessed with his team and his plan for improving it.

That passion – in and of itself – isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is now apparent that there were numerous unhealthy aspects of this behavior that crossed several lines:

• Overt player tampering  (Jeff Passan report)
• Improper International player incentives  (Nubyjas Wilborn report)
• Improper draft incentives to players (Jeff Passan report).  Reports are naming 2nd round pick Drew Waters being involved.  He signed an under-slot deal, though ‘only’ $174,600 under the $1,674,500 slot value.
• An “altercation” during the MLB Draft (Nubyjas Wilborn report)
• The “most despised GM since [Jim] Bowden”  (Jeff Wren)
• Probable international player ‘bundling’ with trainers  (Passan primarily; multiple others)
• Advance verbal agreements with budding international players (Ken Rosenthal report)

But it may have been his own employees that blew the whistle on Coppolella – perhaps the ‘draft altercation’ being a final straw for some.  Ken Rosenthal first got wind of this in late August and that turned out to be everything he said and a lot more.

Some of these practices are things that teams have done for years in the international market while MLB turned a blind eye toward them.  However, it is being alleged that the Braves have taken those violations and cranked them up a notch, now including the Rule 4 draft in the process.

A Willing Accomplice?

Having Gordon Blakeley in his corner probably only exacerbated Coppy’s obsession – and these violations.

Recall that in 2014, eyebrows were raised when the Yankees smoked everyone by exploiting a loophole in the International signing money rules – choosing to pay the penalties while grabbing at least 9 of the top 30 International teens that year – and dozens overall.

Gordon Blakeley was the architect of that haul.  Seems he’s upped his own game even more since then.

A key quote comes from the Marietta Daily Journal today (Wilborn):

"“They were running it like a college football team,” A rival scout said. “I knew if the Braves were after a guy I wasn’t going to get him because the Braves were going to do anything it took to get him.”"

The whole set of allegations points to an obsession on Coppolella’s part to be first and best at obtaining players.  His own words from #AskCoppy sessions on twitter suggest someone who was consistently burning up the phone lines in an effort to pry extra draft picks or international money slots away from other teams.

There were (improper) future plans, too… the next potentially ‘generational’ player, a shortstop who is now 14 years old:

In June of 2016, the Braves ran afoul of a technicality in the draft bonus rules and ultimately had to renege on an offer to (now) Auburn outfielder Josh Anthony to avoid going over their pool limit.  Perhaps in response to that, Coppolella is now alleged to have resorted to other means outside the normal bonus system to insure that he got the players the scouts recommended.

In outfielder Drew Waters, there’s perhaps a telling line at the beginning of this write-up from Mark Bowman:

"When the Braves gathered their scouts in January to begin planning for this year’s MLB Draft, Drew Waters was mentioned as a potential candidate for their first pick, the fifth overall selection."

That statement is innocent enough – teams will routinely do this.  Waters was ranked 23rd and the 7th outfielder by BaseballAmerica in their last pre-draft player chart.  The Braves ended up taking him with the 41st pick.

There were 10 outfielders selected prior to pick #41.  This may have been due to personal preferences and the rankings of individual teams with their scouts.  It also could have been the result of Waters telling teams that he only wanted to play for the Braves.  Either of those scenarios is perfectly valid.

What would not be valid, however, would be (this is still speculation) the promise of under-the-table perks to make up for the fact that Waters might have expected a bonus in the $2.5m range or more and yet settled for $1.5m so that the Braves could ink Kyle Wright for $7 million… while the Braves pocket a pair of players that should have both been 1st rounders.

Checking Precedents

More from Tomahawk Take

• Braves News: Braves re-sign Stephens, Will Atlanta extend Max Fried?, more
• Notable Atlanta Braves Reunions Since 2003: Pitcher Edition
• Braves News: Braves re-sign Jackson Stephens
• Braves News: Braves prospect rankings, Correa deal with Mets at risk, more
• Why the Atlanta Braves won’t extend Max Fried

When the Red Sox were slapped hard for their 2016 violations – loss of the prospects involved (5) and a ban on any signings for the last International (J2) market season – no resignations for their ‘package deal’ violations occurred.

When Padres GM A.J. Preller was caught delivering false or misleading medical reports to the Marlins after a trade, Preller was merely suspended for 30 days.

When an official from the Cardinals hacked into Astros’ computers (mostly because Houston didn’t think about security at all), St. Louis got a $2 million fine plus the loss of two 2017 draft picks.

So will this front office purge be enough to sate the appetite of MLB’s investigators in their demand for recompense?  Surely the Braves would argue that point, telling MLB that the worst is now over and that the net effect was little more than what other teams have always been doing.

Honestly, it might come close, for that serves to immediately and swiftly eliminate the problem for future years and introduces the chance for International Market reforms.  But that won’t be enough.

There will be calls from other clubs to have the Braves release players getting the most under-the-table benefits under the guise that such perks might have swayed them toward Atlanta.

Next: The Most Obvious Next Step?

That suggests two names:  Kevin Maitan and Drew Waters.  Let’s hope for future draft picks instead.