By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Monday after the MLB season ends, for a non-playoff team, really ought to be a slow news day.

Players can’t declare free agency until after the World Series ends; there are no moves to be made, aside from maybe the occasional replacement of a bullpen coach or something like that. But overall that Monday should be a time for a reflecting on the season that was and looking forward to the playoffs and the offseason that will follow.

For the Atlanta Braves, however, that day was quite the opposite, with General Manager John Coppolella resigning as news broke of a scandal. Assistant GM Gordon Blakeley would follow Coppy out the door shortly thereafter.

So, details on the news are pretty scarce at this point. MLB is currently investigating, but what little we do know indicates that Coppy was using some underhanded tactics to get bigger paydays than the rules allowed for international prospects.

Rumors and hearsay broke in the days following the resignation too: that Coppy would blatantly disregard rules about contacting free agents’ agents during the season prior to their hitting the market as well as disregarding some unspoken rules of conduct that GMs abide by in dealing with the media.

After he was forced to give up his job, word circulated that Coppolella was loathed among other GMs. Not a good look for the front office of the Braves.

Until the investigation wraps up, there’s very little concrete information available to predict the full fallout from this scandal. It’s probably not a stretch to assume that penalties will be given involving recent and future international signings and that a few more heads may roll.

The Red Sox were caught in a similar position in 2016, when they were caught “bundling” international prospects (essentially paying one sum to a trainer with the understanding that some of the allocated paychecks for lesser prospects would end up the in wallet of the top tier guys).

Boston was prohibited from signing international prospects for a year and, more damagingly, the players they circumvented the rules to sign were all declared free agents.

It should also be noted that no one from the Red Sox was forced to resign as a result of their scandal, which most likely means that the Atlanta rabbit hole goes down much farther.

After a hefty international signing period in the past couple of years, losing out on some of those prospects would be a big blow the Braves.

Shortstop Kevin Maitan, a top prospect for Atlanta, is a 17-year-old talent who could walk if he was involved in Coppy’s shady dealings.

There is also the troubling rumor rumbling that the amateur draft was dealt with in some less-than above the table ways, including the possibility of under-the-table benefits for draft picks and deals put in the place months ahead of draft day.

For a team and a GM who has done an honestly very impressive job of rebuilding a farm system into a powerhouse in just a few short years, Coppy has potentially jeopardized Atlanta’s ability to continue stocking that farm system for the near future.

One thing we do know that there’s a job opening in Atlanta. John Hart will temporarily take over GM duties while the search for a replacement begins.

There are the ever-present rumors that Dayton Moore will come over from Kansas City to take the job, though more recently the word on the street is that if he comes he’ll want Hart’s job too. This may be feasible if it turns out that Hart was culpable in any of Coppy’s dealings.

If not Moore, it shouldn’t take too long for the position to be filled. The Braves front office is in disarray for sure, but they’ve got a team to be inherited that could win in the next two or three years if things go well enough.

But the first step will have to be putting this nonsense behind them.