Cherington emerging as GM candidate? Pump the brakes a bit
Game five of the 2017 World Series has been fantastic, that’s a for sure thing. A not for sure thing is what will the MLB’s investigation find on the Atlanta Braves and how hard will they come down on them, as well as who will be in the General Manager position.
John Coppolella resigned from the Braves GM job on October 2, 2017. Since then, the talks about anything and everything Braves related continues. It’s died down just a little bit since the World Series started, but we’re still talking about things.
Where will the Braves go, what will they do?!?
Problem right now is that no one knows. No one. Not even the Braves front office knows what the heck is going on. The MLB and Rob Manfred probably knows — from the rumors we’ve heard, the MLB has completed the investigation and will announce after the World Series — the extent of the investigation, but they have no idea where the Braves will go with the GM job.
It’s all speculation right now. All of it. But outside the normal twitter chatter and wants and wishes we all have, we haven’t really heard too many names flying around.
Which brings me to the article Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe posted today. Cafardo is reporting that Ben Cherington is getting a lot of attention as a possible GM candidate for the Braves.
Here are Cafardo’s words…
"Ben Cherington, VP of baseball operations, Blue Jays — Cherington is getting a lot of attention as a possible GM candidate in Atlanta. Team president John Hart will make the call if he’s left standing after the international player scandal that cost John Coppolella his GM job. MLB could be done with its investigation soon and may hand out more sanctions or punishments."
So what do we know about Cherington? Well he’s a 43-year-old MLB executive who’s been the vice-president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays since September of 2016. Prior to that, he was the executive vice president and GM of the Boston Red Sox since 2011. He took over that position from Theo Epstein.
Cherington helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2013. He’s known for signing/trading for big name players. Some have worked out, while others haven’t.
Prior to taking the position with the Blue Jays, the Minnesota Twins wanted Cherington bad, real bad. But he decided to go more north.
Is a GM position something Cherington is open to? I’m not sure. I found this paragraph in an article from the Boston Herald in 2016…
"Cherington instead took a job with the Blue Jays in September, a gig where he’s important but not the man in charge. It’s a job in which Cherington can maintain something closer to a normal life in a business that doesn’t allow for a routine existence."
I guess that brings me to my next thought. How credible is the quotes from Nick Cafardo?
A Boston Globe guy who talks more about other teams than the Red Sox. He doesn’t give any sources to his Cherington to the Braves comments.
We’re all going to find out exactly what the MLB will do with the Braves within the next week/month (again, hopefully soon after the WS and the winners buzz dies down).
Next: Atlanta Braves in the AFL - weekend update
Then the GM pieces will start to fall into place. Hopefully we know all these answers prior to the Winter Meetings beginning.