The Braves' season is over, and so is the tenure of John Coppolella as the team's general manager. On Monday afternoon, Coppolella announced his resignation amid an ongoing MLB investigation into Atlanta's international signings, having committed what the Braves termed "a breach of MLB rules regarding the international player market," in a move first reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. The shocking departure brings an end to Coppolella's time as Atlanta's GM after only three full seasons in charge and following a disappointing year laced with tension in the front office.
The news comes after the Braves stumbled to a 72–90 record and a distant third-place finish in the NL East in 2017—a smaller-than-expected improvement on last year's 68–93 mark, especially given how Atlanta finished the season on a strong note (37–35 in the second half and 16–10 in September) after a brutal start to the year (31–58 before the All-Star break).