Ex-Braves GM Coppolella has lifetime ban lifted

Former Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella has been reinstated by Major League Baseball, more than five years after he was given a lifetime ban by commissioner Rob Manfred.

Coppolella, 44, was kicked out of the sport in the fall of 2017 after it was determined that he had grossly violated rules related to the signings of international players.

After Coppolella applied for reinstatement, MLB officials determined that he had substantively endeavored to improve himself, according to sources. An MLB spokesman told The Athletic, which was the first to report the change in Coppolella’s status, “We can confirm that Mr. Coppolella has been reinstated, given the more than five years he spent on the ineligible list, the contrition he expressed and the other steps he took in response to this matter.”

Coppolella lost his job as the Braves’ general manager at the end of the 2017 season, after putting in place some of the pieces that proved integral to the club’s 2021 championship. He traded for shortstop Dansby Swanson and pitcher Max Fried, and it was during Coppolella’s tenure that the Braves signed Ronald Acuna Jr. and drafted slugger Austin Riley.

Alex Anthopoulos was hired to run the Braves after Coppolella departed.

Many of those who are banished by MLB have never been reinstated, including all-time hits leader Pete Rose and storied outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson.