Braves hire Alex Anthopoulos as GM

[Grant77]

Alex Anthopoulos to be named GM of Atlanta Braves

 

Sportsnet Staff

November 12, 2017, 11:47 PM

The Atlanta Braves will make Alex Anthopoulos their new general manager, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

 

Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi has confirmed the report.

 

Sherman had previously reported that Anthopoulos was the Braves’ Plan B after Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore.

 

Anthopoulos had been serving as the vice-president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was the GM of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2009-15, leading the team to its first 90-win season since 1993.

 

The hiring is expected to be announced at the GM meetings this coming week, according to Sherman.

 

The Braves have been without a GM ever since John Coppolella resigned on Oct. 2 after MLB found proof of significant international market infractions Atlanta made with regards to free agents.

_______________________________

 

It's nice to see another Canadian in a GM role, regardless of what people may think of him. He's a good person that represents the country well.

[TheHurl]

Get in his ear about Ronald Acuna now. Less than a week away from the 5 year anniversary of one of the worst trades ever too, will be fun to re-visit that one in Atlanta

[Captain Adama]

Representing your country well would be being good at your job.

 

Like Farhan Zaidi.

[TheHurl]

It's nice to see another Canadian in a GM role, regardless of what people may think of him. He's a good person that represents the country well.

 

Please explain how he is a good person? Good people keep their word

[Terminator]

Please explain how he is a good person? Good people keep their word

 

What do you mean about him not keeping his word?

[intentional wok]

I'm glad he's getting another shot, but I must have missed some intrigue at some point because I have no idea what these "good person" or "didn't keep his word" things are about.

 

My opinion is that he's a fire-from-the-hip GM who backed into the Toronto fanbase's good graces when some last minute blockbuster trades ended up getting the team to the ALCS (success which admittedly mostly carried over to 2016 too). But without August and September 2015, his name would be dirt here. And even those Price and Tulo trades wouldn't have been possible if the A's didn't drunk text him that night in 2014 to give away Donaldson. AA did a whole hell of a lot of somersaults to only barely leave with a good reputation here. I mean, yeah, he built a good team, but I don't think I'd trust him to be able to do it again.

[Nabru]

Maybe working under Friedman or Zaidi changed his process.

 

I was not a fan of his Toronto tenure. I don't think there was a process in his 6 years in Toronto. Looked like someone playing bingo, not GM of a MLB team.

[Brownie19]

I'm glad he's getting another shot, but I must have missed some intrigue at some point because I have no idea what these "good person" or "didn't keep his word" things are about.

 

My opinion is that he's a fire-from-the-hip GM who backed into the Toronto fanbase's good graces when some last minute blockbuster trades ended up getting the team to the ALCS (success which admittedly mostly carried over to 2016 too). But without August and September 2015, his name would be dirt here. And even those Price and Tulo trades wouldn't have been possible if the A's didn't drunk text him that night in 2014 to give away Donaldson. AA did a whole hell of a lot of somersaults to only barely leave with a good reputation here. I mean, yeah, he built a good team, but I don't think I'd trust him to be able to do it again.

 

Meh - there were a lot of good things he did before "selling the farm". He managed to unload Vernon Wells (a small miracle really). He exploited loop holes in the CBA to drastically improve the farm system. I loved his moves to get Brandon Morrow, Travis and of course JD. I like the risks he took to sign EE and JB long term.

 

We don't know what would have happened if he didn't make the Dickey / Florida deals...and I was on this board before those happened (and perhaps wasn't nearly as educated about baseball either)....but was he considered to be complete dog s*** before those 2 moves by most on this board? Just curious.

[Brownie19]

Maybe working under Friedman or Zaidi changed his process.

 

I was not a fan of his Toronto tenure. I don't think there was a process in his 6 years in Toronto. Looked like someone playing bingo, not GM of a MLB team.

 

Really? He took over a mediocre team with a high payroll and an awful farm system. He cleared payroll and rebuild the farm system while exploiting loop holes in the CBA. He took chances on some failed prospects and on the breakouts by JB + EE. knowing the EE/JB era and cheap contracts was coming to an end, he spent the last 2 seasons selling off the prospects to make a run at the playoffs - which was successful and something that rejuvenated the fan base. Then he bailed, knowing full well it wasn't sustainable.

 

That's as straight forward of a plan as it gets man.

[intentional wok]

Meh - there were a lot of good things he did before "selling the farm". He managed to unload Vernon Wells (a small miracle really). He exploited loop holes in the CBA to drastically improve the farm system. I loved his moves to get Brandon Morrow, Travis and of course JD. I like the risks he took to sign EE and JB long term.

 

We don't know what would have happened if he didn't make the Dickey / Florida deals...and I was on this board before those happened (and perhaps wasn't nearly as educated about baseball either)....but was he considered to be complete dog s*** before those 2 moves by most on this board? Just curious.

 

I wasn't here either, but I don't think he made all bad moves or even mostly bad moves. His time was just erratic, and he didn't build a legitimately good team until, what, year 6 of his tenure here? I wouldn't call that 'good', but I wouldn't say he doesn't deserve another gig either. It was just very wacky. He was the Ezequiel Carrera of the front office.

[baubau]

Get in his ear about Ronald Acuna now. Less than a week away from the 5 year anniversary of one of the worst trades ever too, will be fun to re-visit that one in Atlanta

 

Donaldson for Acuna. Get er done Atkins!!

 

Honestly, will be interesting. AA will inherit, in my opinion, the deepest farm out there (White Chi is 2nd). Interesting to see what prospects will get blasted for what players. While I never agreed with all of his moves, that man does know how to make trades interesting.

[Brownie19]

I wasn't here either, but I don't think he made all bad moves or even mostly bad moves. His time was just erratic, and he didn't build a legitimately good team until, what, year 6 of his tenure here? I wouldn't call that 'good', but I wouldn't say he doesn't deserve another gig either. It was just very wacky. He was the Ezequiel Carrera of the front office.

 

You have to consider what he inherited though. The farm system was god awful and he was told to cut the payroll. It took at least 3 years to get back to square 1.

 

Just curious - how many years will you give Shatkins before you consider their tenure a failure? The team was in considerably better shape than it was went AA took over.

[Krylian]

Congrats to AA

[Terminator]

You have to consider what he inherited though. The farm system was god awful and he was told to cut the payroll. It took at least 3 years to get back to square 1.

 

This is when he was actually at his best and everyone here kind of liked him. He built the farm up and did a great job of manipulating the QO system to acquire more picks and all that. They even changed the rules because of him. He also hit on a lot of small FA signings which helped keep the team afloat.

 

But then his payroll nearly doubled and he pissed all his prospects away to acquire old expensive talent. He set up the team for a two year window to contend and then bolted. He's lucky that the 2015 team went bonkers in the second half and made the playoffs. Making the trades he did with a 6 game deficit was not prudent but it worked. Bolting when he did was really smart. He'll be a TO legend among the casual fanbase but most people who really pay attention to this stuff don't miss him. Unless he picked up some new philosophies from the Dodgers I don't think he was a very good choice by the Braves.

[burlingtonbandit]

Yeah I don't get the hate for him. The Miami and Dickey trades didn't work out but there were plenty of other great moves. Its good for the game that he's back in a GM role, certainly not shy of making creative trades.

 

I still think he would have done a really good job being the GM with Shapiro in charge. His greatest strengths seems to be negotiating contracts, trades etc

[Brownie19]

This is when he was actually at his best and everyone here kind of liked him. He built the farm up and did a great job of manipulating the QO system to acquire more picks and all that. They even changed the rules because of him. He also hit on a lot of small FA signings which helped keep the team afloat.

 

But then his payroll nearly doubled and he pissed all his prospects away to acquire old expensive talent. He set up the team for a two year window to contend and then bolted. He's lucky that the 2015 team went bonkers in the second half and made the playoffs. Making the trades he did with a 6 game deficit was not prudent but it worked. Bolting when he did was really smart. He'll be a TO legend among the casual fanbase but most people who really pay attention to this stuff don't miss him. Unless he picked up some new philosophies from the Dodgers I don't think he was a very good choice by the Braves.

 

I tend to agree with all of that...however, I do wonder how many FO's are truly allowed to try and build a sustainable winner....and lets consider how many succeed...At times, I think we undersell the reality that he created a team that went to the ALCS in back to back years. I mean how many GM's formulate a long term plan, only to see it fail and them get fired because, well....baseball happens. Whether you're the Mets and you watch all your pitchers arms fall off + your franchise 3rd baseman develops a chronic condition...or your the Marlins and your star pitcher dies and Ownership changes hands. I mean things change quickly in baseball....sustainable winning is incredible difficult. I still have a hard time faulting a guy for taking a shot - especially when he succeeded (playoffs are generally a crap shoot). If the Jays win the WS in 2015 and we are where we are today, would you still consider AA a failure - simply because we didn't win the division in 7 of the next 10 years? (or some theoretical milestones that you'd decided would demonstrate sustainable success)

[John_Havok]

Maybe working under Friedman or Zaidi changed his process.

 

I was not a fan of his Toronto tenure. I don't think there was a process in his 6 years in Toronto. Looked like someone playing bingo, not GM of a MLB team.

 

There was a very obvious plan when he first took over, it just seemingly changed overnight. Let's not forget that aside from stockpiling picks using the free agent type A/B loopholes he also increased the scouting staff immensely from where it was under Ricciardi.

 

He did everything right to start building a team that could be a consistent competing team.... then did a complete 180 with the Dickey and Florida trades and basically set the team back 5+ years in terms of development

[Brownie19]

There was a very obvious plan when he first took over, it just seemingly changed overnight. Let's not forget that aside from stockpiling picks using the free agent type A/B loopholes he also increased the scouting staff immensely from where it was under Ricciardi.

 

He did everything right to start building a team that could be a consistent competing team.... then did a complete 180 with the Dickey and Florida trades and basically set the team back 5+ years in terms of development

 

Serious question. If AA traded Thor for JD after the 2014 season, traded Norris+ for David Price at the deadline, Hoffman/Reyes for Tulo and Baretto and all those other JAGS for Dickey + the Marlins.....and that team made the ALCS in back to back years...would everyone still think he ruined the Blue Jays and set them back 5 years?

[Brownie19]

There was a very obvious plan when he first took over, it just seemingly changed overnight. Let's not forget that aside from stockpiling picks using the free agent type A/B loopholes he also increased the scouting staff immensely from where it was under Ricciardi.

 

He did everything right to start building a team that could be a consistent competing team.... then did a complete 180 with the Dickey and Florida trades and basically set the team back 5+ years in terms of development

 

I'm not sure why you think that was a 180....that WAS the plan. Build value through the farm system + save the team money, then add payroll and sell prospects before the JB/EE window closes. This is a pretty common plan eh? Houston just went out and sign veterans (McCann, Reddick, Morton, Beltran) and traded prospects for Verlander, Giles (even Liriano).

[BTS]

Serious question. If AA traded Thor for JD after the 2014 season, traded Norris+ for David Price at the deadline, Hoffman/Reyes for Tulo and Baretto and all those other JAGS for Dickey + the Marlins.....and that team made the ALCS in back to back years...would everyone still think he ruined the Blue Jays and set them back 5 years?

 

Well, we’re 8 full seasons from when he took over and his teams won a division title and wild card spot, and is now in the middle of a predictable down swing due to him going all in with old guys on big contracts. This minimal success despite being allowed a top-10 payroll. Those results are unacceptable. The team he assembled, given the assets available, was unacceptable. Bad GM.

[BTS]

I agree. His signings of Bautista, Joe Smith, Pearce and Morales did nothing for our rebuild. I can't believe AA gave Morales that contract for -0.6 WAR.

 

Shatkins has done about as well as can be expected on the FA market. Some wins (Happ, Estrada, Smith, Smoak) and some losses (Morales, Bautista, Pearce). The writing was on the wall for this core.

[burlingtonbandit]

The one thing I wonder is how much ownership was involved in pushing those trades. It seemed odd to all of a sudden trade for all of those players in 2013 after AA was stockpiling all of those assets.

 

Even right now ownership seems to be pushing the directing the path the Franchise is going, and I remember seeing reports Shapiro found it difficult dealing with the higher ups of Rogers.

 

 

 

 

Btw is anyone else having trouble posing replies? Seems half the time the box to write a message isn't even there or if I try to quote reply it doesn't work.

[Jonn]

Representing your country well would be being good at your job.

 

Like Farhan Zaidi.

 

Farhan Zaidi is barely Canadian though lol. He lived here unti he was 4.

[BTS]

Look, I like Shatkins more than AA but I can at least be objective.

 

Attributing the past couple years to AA when he is not even here to make moves is just a piss poor take. In his last year here he got Travis, Donaldson, Estrada, Smoak, Vlad Jr. etc for absolutely nothing.

 

There's no way to know what he could have done the past couple years.

 

Giving him full credit for 2016’s wild card team while pointing out that his old, expensive core breaking down was pretty much an inevitability seems pretty fair. Maybe you’re being a bit sensitive?

[Dick_Pole]

Shatkins has done about as well as can be expected on the FA market. Some wins (Happ, Estrada, Smith, Smoak) and some losses (Morales, Bautista, Pearce). The writing was on the wall for this core.

 

I don't consider Bautista a loss at all. A lesser man would have caved to pressure at a much less opportune time, the outcome could have been MUCH worse. He walks and is still a superstar and a million casuals trash the FO forever and ever. Or he gets a real multi-year deal and does what he did in 2017. That worked out about as well as the Jays could have hoped, the franchise saved face and still had a chance to luck out on some upside if there was any.

 

That Pearce call as a loss is questionable as well. I'm guessing you're trying to fill out the bad move column just to be fair in your retort. Could have used Howell I guess.

[BTS]

Ya but I don't get what he was supposed to do when his best players were Bautista and Encarnacion. Trade them? He decided to compete while they were good. He added Donaldson and Martin who are old but still good.

 

The only bad contract he took on was Tulowitzki, which was at least a logical move considering he dumped Reyes.

 

You make it sound like he is Amaro who re-signed s***, old core players after they were clearly s***. No, he didn't do that. You are just saying things that are false, over and over.

 

It’s false that he left behind an old, expensive core on the brink of collapse? What is it you think you witnessed in 2017? This me it looked like an old, expensive core collapsing.

[TheHurl]

I tend to agree with all of that...however, I do wonder how many FO's are truly allowed to try and build a sustainable winner....and lets consider how many succeed...At times, I think we undersell the reality that he created a team that went to the ALCS in back to back years. I mean how many GM's formulate a long term plan, only to see it fail and them get fired because, well....baseball happens. Whether you're the Mets and you watch all your pitchers arms fall off + your franchise 3rd baseman develops a chronic condition...or your the Marlins and your star pitcher dies and Ownership changes hands. I mean things change quickly in baseball....sustainable winning is incredible difficult. I still have a hard time faulting a guy for taking a shot - especially when he succeeded (playoffs are generally a crap shoot). If the Jays win the WS in 2015 and we are where we are today, would you still consider AA a failure - simply because we didn't win the division in 7 of the next 10 years? (or some theoretical milestones that you'd decided would demonstrate sustainable success)

 

The organization which many of us here admired for how they build a sustainable winner is now two straight years without a playoffs. But they at least the Cardinals never strayed too far from the plan. But they also have the one WS win, one more NL title to stand behind in showing the process works. You can have the best system in place but your job is probably in jeopardy every year that it doesn't fulfill the promise you might lose your job. I have to think that panic set in with AA and the rest of his time he scrambled to make it work (getting Donaldson eventually made it work), it's either that or leading into the 2013 he severely overrated where the team was (also a possibility as he didn't believe in outside projections)

 

I honestly believe that he knew he was leaving the minute Shapiro was hired, so I'm actually shocked he didn't go for it even more at that deadline. That two months of ball playing way beyond projections cemented a future job for him. I've heard that lots of other Front Office people have a lot of respect for him, I can't help it if I don't.

Edited November 13, 2017 by TheHurl

[Dick_Pole]

I am a fan of this current FO, more than AA. And I am optimistic that this team will perform well under this regime's control with a robust payroll and directive to win from ownership.

 

I don't dislike AA, I think he did more good than bad, but was imperfect. I wish him no ill will.

 

AA was far better than JPR (with the one glaring exception being roster management) and Ash.

[BTS]

I don't consider Bautista a loss at all. A lesser man would have caved to pressure at a much less opportune time, the outcome could have been MUCH worse. He walks and is still a superstar and a million casuals trash the FO forever and ever. Or he gets a real multi-year deal and does what he did in 2017. That worked out about as well as the Jays could have hoped, the franchise saved face and still had a chance to luck out on some upside if there was any.

 

That Pearce call as a loss is questionable as well. I'm guessing you're trying to fill out the bad move column just to be fair in your retort. Could have used Howell I guess.

 

I was just trying to be fair. The Bautista contract was completely understandable, and Pearce was an excellent move that to this point hasn’t worked out.

[Bobthe4th]

It’s false that he left behind an old, expensive core on the brink of collapse? What is it you think you witnessed in 2017? This me it looked like an old, expensive core collapsing.

 

Hardly, Bautista and Tulo were the only AA holdovers that fit that description in 2017. In any case, I'd argue the Travis and Sanchez injuries had a bigger affect on the season.