This doesn't get brought up enough on here. Everyone praises Atkins on his FA signings/trades more than they did AA. But AA did lock up two of the best franchise players of the last decade to very team friendly extensions! We've also seen AA work his magic in Atlanta, locking up core players to team friendly extensions. Atkins hasn't done that at all yet with players like Bo or Vlad. In hindsight, not signing Vlad to an extension is looking like the right move, but even if Vladdy was hitting like he did in 2021, doubt he would have been locked up to a team friendly extension.
Atkins has done well with some big FA signings obviously - Gausman, Semien as a buy low etc and with some trades like Chapman, buying low on Ray, Matz, etc. Otherwise, the Springer, Bassitt, Ryu contracts haven't looked that good. Springer is looking worrisome and could be toast for the remaining years of his contract. Bassitt is being paid over $40M as a No. 4 starter.
Overall, AA was definitely the better baseball mind and still is. Under AA, this team came close to a World Series. We haven't seen that under Atkins yet.