FILE-This Sept. 4, 2015, file photo shows Atlanta Braves assistant general manager and director of pro scouting John Coppolella talking on the phone in the dugout during batting practice before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, in Washington. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has hit the Atlanta Braves with heavy sanctions, including the loss of nine players, for rules violations committed by the team in the international player market. Manfred on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, also placed former Braves general manager Coppolella on the permanently ineligible list. Former Braves Special Assistant Gordon Blakeley, the team's international scouting chief, is suspended from performing services for any team for one year. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE-This Sept. 4, 2015, file photo shows Atlanta Braves assistant general manager and director of pro scouting John Coppolella talking on the phone in the dugout during batting practice before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, in Washington. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has hit the Atlanta Braves with heavy sanctions, including the loss of nine players, for rules violations committed by the team in the international player market. Manfred on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, also placed former Braves general manager Coppolella on the permanently ineligible list. Former Braves Special Assistant Gordon Blakeley, the team's international scouting chief, is suspended from performing services for any team for one year. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Credit: Alex Brandon

Atlanta — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred hit the Atlanta Braves with heavy sanctions, including the loss of 13 players, on Tuesday for rules violations committed by the team in the international player market.

Manfred also placed former Braves general manager John Coppolella on the permanently ineligible list. Former Braves Special Assistant Gordon Blakeley, who was the team’s international scouting chief, is suspended from performing services for any team for one year.

Manfred said an investigation conducted by Major League Baseball determined the Braves circumvented international signing rules from 2015 through 2017 by moving bonus pool money from one player to boost another player’s contract.

Most notable among the players the Braves will lose is Kevin Maitan, an infielder from Venezuela who signed for $4.25 million in 2016.

Other “high-value” players the Braves will lose include Juan Contreras, Yefri del Rosario, Abrahan Gutierrez, Juan Carlos Negret, Yenci Peña, Yunior Severino, Livan Soto and Guillermo Zuniga.

Three more international signees — Brandol Mezquita, Angel Rojas and Antonio Sucre — were declared free agents. The team’s contract with prospect Ji-Hwan Bae, which was not yet final, was disapproved. Finally, the Braves were banned from signing prospect Robert Puason in the 2019-20 signing period.

The 13 players will be free to negotiate as free agents with other teams.

Also, the Braves will forfeit their third-round selection in the 2018 draft as punishment for offering “impermissible benefits” to an unnamed draft pick in an effort to convince him to sign for a lower bonus.

The investigation showed the players signed by the Braves in 2016-17 would have been unavailable if the team had not circumvented the rules by moving bonus pool money.

Manfred said stripping the Braves of the 13 players was not sufficient punishment. He said “additional sanctions are warranted to penalize the club for the violations committed by its employees.”

Therefore, the Braves will be prohibited from signing any international player for more than $10,000 during the 2019-20 signing period. Also, the team’s international signing bonus pool for the 2020-21 signing period will be reduced by 50 percent.

And there is still more discipline to be handed down. Manfred said he intends “to discipline other Braves international baseball operations employees who participated in the misconduct.”

Coppolella was forced to resign after the season. Former team president John Hart was moved to a senior adviser role when a new general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, was hired on Nov. 13. Hart left the team on Friday.

“The senior baseball operations officials responsible for the misconduct are no longer employed by the Braves,” Manfred said. He also said the Braves “cooperated throughout the investigation.”

Coppolella did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The Braves braced fans for the sanctions when team chairman Terry McGuirk apologized to fans “on behalf of the entire Braves family” for the rules violations at the news conference to introduce Anthopoulos.

The Braves are not the first team to be found guilty of violating rules in signing international players.

In 2016, the Boston Red Sox lost five players and were banned from signing international amateur free agents for one year as punishment for rules violations on signing bonuses.

MLB, Japan Agree on Posting Deal

New York — Major League Baseball, its Japanese counterpart and the American players union agreed Tuesday to a new posting system that could allow Japanese star pitcher-outfielder Shohei Ohtani to be put up for bid next week, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press.

The agreement is still not in writing and must be ratified by Nippon Professional Baseball and the players union, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because no comments were authorized.

Major league owners are scheduled to vote for ratification on Dec. 1 and Ohtani is expected to be posted then or the following day. Under a shortened timetable this offseason big league teams willing to pay the posting fee, expected to be the maximum $20 million, have 21 days to negotiate a major league contract.

As part of the deal, a tiered system for posting fees will start next Nov. 1. The fee will be 20 percent of the first $25 million of a contract, including earned bonuses and options; 17. 5 percent of the next $25 million and 15 percent of any amount over $50 million.

Yankees’ Judge Has Surgery

New York — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is expected to be ready for spring training after he had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. The Yankees said the procedure involved a loose-body removal and cartilage cleanup.

The 25-year-old Judge hit .284 with 52 homers and 114 RBIs in 155 games this season.

He was a unanimous selection for AL Rookie of the Year and finished second to Houston infielder Jose Altuve in the AL MVP race.