The Braves are going to lose prospects for breaking international signing rules, but it might not end there

The Braves got caught red-handed circumventing international signing rules last month, and after they cut ties with front office fall guy and general manager John Coppolella, the next big question was what the league’s punishment was going to be.

Now we have that answer. Or at least the beginning of that answer, since this could be only the tip of the iceberg of what Atlanta will have to give up because of its shady international dealings.

Early assumptions were that the punishment would be along the lines of what the Red Sox had to give up for doing similar things with international signing bonuses, including restrictions on signing amateurs and relinquishing already-signed prospects. And so far that looks to be the case.

According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Braves are set to lose multiple prospects that they’ve signed from Latin America. As with how it went down in Boston’s situation, those prospects will keep their signing bonuses (so as not to punish young players for their team’s mistakes) but be free to sign with another team (as part of an international signing pool, not as a true free agent) after the Players Association approves the change in that prospect’s status.

The amount of players and which ones will be let loose is still undecided by the league, but once Atlanta gets over the sting of this punishment there’s probably more in the pipeline.

That could include restrictions on signing players from international markets, heavy fines, limitations on international signing pool bonus money, or a combination of the above. Whatever the case, top prospects being yanked from their grasp is just the start.