The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday that GM Jon Coppolella has resigned amid an MLB investigation.
The team said that the resignation is a result of a breach of MLB rules for the international player market.
While exact details are unknown, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the situation is believed to have stemmed from the Braves’ “talent acquisition” from Latin America.
Under Coppolella, the Braves have developed one of MLB’s best farm systems, however, an eye-popping report from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan paints an ugly picture behind the scenes.
In a series of tweets, Passan reported that Coppolella was “well-loathed” among peers and that there was a “schadenfreude” reaction to his resignation.
Additionally, according to Passan, the Braves were being investigated for everything from international operations, the draft, and Coppolella's treatment of employees. According to Passan, the Braves had become a "wasteland of infighting" and at least one anonymous complaint about Coppolella had been filed.
Numerous issues with John Coppolella came up as the league looked into the situation. At least one anonymous complaint was filed with MLB.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
The Braves organization has been a wasteland of infighting in recent weeks, according to numerous sources. Chaos centered around Coppolella.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
MLB was looking into everything from Braves' int'l operations to its domestic draft to Coppolella's treatment of Braves employees.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
To put it mildly, John Coppolella was not well-liked among his peers. Well-loathed would be more accurate. A lot of schadenfreude right now.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 2, 2017
According to ESPN, John Hart, the Braves president of baseball operations, will take over as GM while they search for a replacement for Coppolella. Passan reported that the job is likely to be in high demand.