In a seemingly innocuous tweet reply this afternoon, beat writer Mark Bowman may have let some big news slip through his keyboard.
When you peruse the Front Office job functions of the Atlanta Braves, you will see the following list today in the ‘Executive’ group:
- Chairman and CEO – Terry McGuirkVice Chairman – John SchuerholzPresident, Baseball Operations – John HartPresident, Development – Mike PlantPresident, Business – Derek SchillerSenior Vice President – Henry AaronChief Financial Officer – Chip MooreChief Legal Officer – Greg HellerChairman Emeritus – William C. Bartholomay
So with that in mind, here’s a response to an inquiry about Royals’ Assistant GM J.J. Pocollo that MLB.com’s Mark Bowman gave out a few minutes ago:
They are seeking somebody to be president of baseball ops. J.J. has a bright future, but for now he’d be a GM candidate https://t.co/BvznbRDjtS
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 31, 2017
Wait, what?
Last we’d heard, John Hart was (a) considering staying on an interim GM (at least); (b) signing on for another tour of duty; (c) ‘not involved’ in the current scandal; and (d) see (a) above.
But if the Braves are indeed looking for a Baseball Ops guy, then that’s… Hart’s job.
You are free to speculate further on the ‘why‘ of this news, but it is certainly news… which Bowman kinda let slip as if it was common knowledge.
But up until just a couple of days ago, it really wasn’t.
Now Bowman has hinted at this before… but only in a speculative manner:
If the Braves eventually have to move on from thoughts of Dayton Moore, Jim Hendry might be a target to run their baseball ops department
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 30, 2017
Note the “IF” prominently displayed there in this tweet from yesterday. That’s no more information than we’ve really had over the last few weeks, but this new tweet certainly changes things.
The Upshot
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A lot of us monitoring the situation at the Southern Cobb Central Command have been increasingly curious about Hart’s role anyway. A lot of folks – and truly, there have been a lot – read the report of his ‘non-involvement’ in the rule-breaking scandal and wondered these things out loud:
- If he’s President of Baseball Ops, then how did he not know about these bad… baseball operations?
- If he’s unaware of these things, then how is it that he’s doing his job?
It could be now that the Braves’ Senior Executives are asking the same things – and have all but moved Hart’s personal effects into boxes.
While this could put a lid on the Hart influence (such as it was) in Atlanta, it still means there’s a lot more news to come…
Next: 10 Unforgettable Post-season Moments
… but if Hart truly departs, that will probably open up some better possibilities for successors to his position, and that of General Manager.