NEW YORK (AP) — Former Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella has been reinstated by Major League Baseball after serving more than five years of a suspension originally announced as permanent.
Now 44, Coppolella began with the Braves in 2006 when he oversaw quantitative analysis and baseball information initiatives. He became general manager following the 2015 season and was suspended on Nov. 21, 2017, after MLB concluded that the team circumvented international signing rules from 2015-17.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB determined that the Braves funneled extra signing bonus money to five players in 2015-16 by giving the funds first to another player considered a foreign professional under baseball’s rules and having the money redistributed to the other five.