MLB will also dock the Braves a third-round
pick in the 2018 amateur draft after the team offered extra
benefits to 41st overall pick Drew Waters last year. Waters,
however, will be able to remain with Atlanta.
The league determined that the Braves had packaged international
signing bonuses during the two-year signing period from 2016-18,
which is in violation of MLB rules.
MLB stated that Juan Contreras, Yefri del Rosario, Abrahan
Gutierrez, Kevin Maitan, Juan Carlos Negret, Yenci Pena, Yunior
Severino, Livan Soto, Guillermo Zuniga, Brandol Mezquita, Angel
Rojas and Antonio Sucre were illegally signed during the
two-year span.
The scandal cost former Braves general manager John Coppolella
and team scout Gordon Blakeley their jobs and also led to the
resignation of Atlanta president of baseball operations John
Hart.
--Reigning American League Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge of the
New York Yankees underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left
shoulder Monday, but is expected to complete his recovery before
the start of spring training.
The Yankees announced that Judge's procedure "involved a
loose-body removal and cartilage clean-up."
Judge, 25, hit an AL-leading and a Yankees-rookie-record 52 home
runs while driving in 114 runs and batting .284 over 155 games.
--Hall of Fame vice chairman Joe Morgan emailed every eligible
voter from the Baseball Writers' Association of America on
Tuesday, writing that "steroid users don't belong" in
Cooperstown, N.Y.
Morgan's email, which he said he wrote on behalf of "many of the
Hall of Famers," comes one day after the 2018 ballot was
released.
"We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted
into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don't belong
here," wrote Morgan, a two-time National League Most Valuable
Player who was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.
Former stars Roger Clemens (54.1 percent) and Barry Bonds (53.8
percent) received their highest vote totals last year, moving
closer to the 75 percent required for enshrinement.
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