Former Braves GM Coppolella receives lifetime ban

Major League Baseball has placed former Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella on the permanently ineligible list for his part in the international signing scandal that forced the team to lose 12 prospects.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the punishments Tuesday afternoon.

Coppolella resigned from his post as the team's GM in October alongside assistant Gordon Blakeley, who will receive a one-year ban preventing him from working for any MLB club over that time.

The Braves accepted the punishments levied and are looking to move on, the team announced in a statement:

"(Our) organization has not lived up to the standard our fans expect from us and that we expect from ourselves. For that we apologize. We are instituting the changes necessary to prevent this from ever happening again."

Manfred added that other Braves employees connected to International baseball operations will receive discipline after "completion of our internal procedures."

The Braves hired former Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopolous as Coppolella's replacement on Nov. 13.