John Coppolella has resigned as Braves general manager, an unexpected and stunning development one day after the Braves finished their third consecutive 90-loss season.
At a time when many believed the Braves' first big offseason announcement would be regarding manager Brian Snitker, they've instead had a seismic shift above him.
The Braves later made an announcement confirming the news. The statement read:
"Atlanta Braves General Manager John Coppolella has resigned from his position, effective immediately. The resignation comes as a result of a breach of Major League Baseball rules regarding the international player market.
"Major League Baseball is investigating the matter with our full cooperation and support," said John Hart, Braves president of baseball operations, in the statement. "We will not be issuing any further comment until the investigation is complete."
According to the Braves, the organization will begin an immediate search for Coppolella's replacement and Hart will perform the GM duties until a replacement is named.
Coppolella has held the GM title for two years and served as the de facto GM for a year prior to that. The Braves fired GM Frank Wren and turned over baseball operations to Hart, who was named president of baseball operations in October 2014, and Coppolella, who served under Wren and kept an assistant GM title for one year as Hart's right-hand man before being promoted GM on Oct. 1, 2015.
The Braves embarked on a rebuilding project after firing Wren, as they systematically traded away veteran players with high salaries and/or those nearing free agency in numerous transactions that brought back prospects, most of them pitching prospects.
The organization's farm system has improved from bottom-tier status a few years ago to No. 1 or No. 2 according to most experts, the Braves loaded with prospects acquired via trades and the draft. But the product at the major league level has not improved as quickly as the Braves had envisioned.
Coppolella has a couple of high-profile mistake trades on his resume, most notably dealing away left-hander Alex Wood and other young talent to acquire Cuban third baseman Hector Olivera, who turned out to be a bust on the field even before he was suspended after being arrested for domestic assault. He was later traded to the Padres in a swap of bad contracts that has saddled the Braves with injury-prone and overweight outfielder Matt Kemp.
