Braves lose prospects, draft pick in signing scandal
Major League Baseball brought the hammer down on the Atlanta Braves after their international signing scandal.
As a result of the league's investigation, Atlanta will lose 12 prospects - including highly regarded shortstop Kevin Maitan - to free agency, will be prohibited from signing a 14-year-old shortstop prospect once he's eligible in 2019, and will lose a third-round draft pick in 2018 as a result of draft-related infractions.
Atlanta will also see its available money on the international markets curtailed going forward. The team will be allowed to spend just $300,000 on any player during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 signing periods, with penalties expected to rise after that.
| Player | Pos. | Age | Year of Signing | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Maitan | SS | 17 | 2016 | $4.25M |
| Abrahan Gutierrez | C | 18 | 2016 | $3.5M |
| Yunior Severino | 2B | 18 | 2016 | $1.9M |
| Juan Contreras | RHP | 18 | 2016 | $1.2M |
| Yenci Pena | IF | 17 | 2016 | $1M |
| Yefri del Rosario | RHP | 18 | 2016 | $1M |
| Livan Soto | SS | 17 | 2016 | $1M |
| Guillermo Zuniga | RHP | 19 | 2016 | -- |
| Juan Carlos Negret | OF | 18 | 2016 | -- |
| Antonio Sucre | OF | 18 | 2016 | -- |
| Brandol Mezquita | OF | 17 | 2017 | -- |
| Angel Rojas | OF | 24 | 2017 | -- |
Maitan, the Braves' No. 5 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline, is the biggest name lost out of the investigation. He's drawn a few comparisons to Miguel Sano and Miguel Cabrera, though the 17-year-old switch-hitter struggled in 2017 during his first professional season, hitting just .241/.290/.340 in 42 games at the Rookie level.
The Braves agreed to an illegal contract with 14-year-old Dominican shortstop Robert Puason, who's two years away from being eligible to be signed by big-league clubs, and Atlanta will not be allowed to sign him.
They also offered Korean prospect Ji-Hwan Bae extra-contractual compensation, and while the 18-year-old had not officially signed with Atlanta, the contract has now been void by MLB.
The Braves' signing scandal first broke in October and it forced then-general manager John Coppolella and assistant Gordon Blakeley to resign from the club. John Hart, who served as Atlanta's president of baseball operations and was the interim GM before Alex Anthopoulos was hired, left the Braves on Friday, only days after he'd been moved into a senior adviser position.
Atlanta reportedly spent almost $17 million on illegal bonuses during the 2016 international signing period, a source told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday.