A well-known agent was called by a 770 number the previous year. The person on the other end was the general manager of the Atlanta Braves. He had a question regarding a customer of the agency. Not because the Braves liked the player, but rather because he was playing for a new team in August—two and a half months before he would be eligible for free agency—the agent considered this to be quite fascinating. Never before has he witnessed a general manager so flagrantly flouting the anti-tampering regulations.
Nevertheless, it seems that his career ended on Monday when he resigned amid a Major League Baseball investigation into potential violations involving domestic and international amateurs as well as allegations of tampering, sources told Yahoo Sports. Throughout his career, disdain for rules drove his ascent and accelerated his decline. When he rose to the position of leadership at a well-known organization, defying the industry maxim “be seen, not heard” and depending on cordial media connections to enhance his public image, colleagues made fun of him. According to insiders, internal strife escalated throughout his time as the Braves general manager until it blew up in his face when he was the target of anonymous charges that prompted an inquiry and ultimately led to his forced departure.
Even though the long-term effects of activities are yet unknown, sources suggest that MLB’s inquiry has recently focused on the bundling of foreign amateur signing incentives in order to get around spending constraints. Though the details of the Braves’ plan are still unknown, one individual with knowledge of it asserted that it was “much bigger” than the Boston Red Sox’s 2015–16 signing period strategy. Boston competed for incentives on lower-rated players represented by the same buskin, or trainer, of higher-rated players, to whom extra money was supplied, in order to get past laws restricting them to signing players for a maximum $300,000 incentive. Following their designation as free agents, the five players who had signed as part of the scam were prohibited from signing any foreign players for a full year by the Red Sox.
There are rumors that the Braves’ problems might go well beyond. Investigations are ongoing over the signing of 17-year-old shortstop Kevin Maiten, a bright prospect who was awarded a $4.25 million bonus the previous season. Maiten may also be declared a free agent if abnormalities related to his signing are found, according to a number of publications.
Numerous Braves staff members and others with knowledge of the probe said that among the mayhem he oversaw, there was also palace intrigue. Although the organization possesses what is perhaps the strongest minor league system in baseball, this has left it in disarray.
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