Last week was not been a good time to be a Braves fan. In one fell swoop, former general manager John Coppolella was banned for life from Major League Baseball and the team was punished harshly for trying to circumvent international free agent spending caps. In addition, special assistant Gordon Blakeley received a one year suspension.
The penalties basically prevent the Braves from signing any kind of major talent in the IFA market for the next four years. And if that’s not bad enough, 12 current prospects — including No. 38 overall prospect, shortstop Kevin Maitan — were declared free agents and another was prevented from consummating an agreed-upon deal.