When the Atlanta Braves brought Alex Anthopoulos in to clean up the mess and keep the ship afloat, pundits called him a gunslinger; they were wrong, very wrong.
When he took over in Toronto, Anthopoulos was ready to begin a rebuild. His early moves look exactly like the moves he’s made for Atlanta, then Jose Bautista figured out how to hit a lot of home runs and changed everything. As I look at every move he made while Toronto’s GM it’s easy to see the transition.
The lineup and rotation needed help, so he gave out his first multi-year contracts; Bautista’s worked well, the others were okay. he began making deals needed to make them a challenger, but it was after the 2012 season that he made the big moves; acquiring half of the Marlins team and trading Thor for R.A. Dickey.
He got the team to the postseason and took on lots of payroll to do it, but the Jays never won the big prize. When he left the Blue Jays had a $152M payroll, an old roster, and a thin minor league system. I believe his experience then weighs heavily on what he’s done for the Atlanta Braves.
How do you spell success?
The Atlanta Braves were successful over the last three seasons, in large part because of the core of players added by Coppolella.
He struck gold with the addition of Donaldson and Ozuna, and his deadline deals in 2018 and 2019, pushed the team over the line, but only Darren O’Day in 2018, and his 2019 deadline trades provided long term improvement.
Anthopoulos hoarded prospects very well. In the 26 trades affecting the Major League roster, he sent money or a PTBNL instead of a prospect on all but eight occasions. When he did send players they were replaceable; a handful became relief pitchers but none left a hole in the system. On the other hand, many of the retained prospects haven’t done much either.
Acuna and Albies debuted in Anthopoulos’ first season, and the new GM wasn’t going to do anything until he’d figured out everyone’s name. Mike Soroka, Max Fried, and in a short look, Ian Anderson moved the needle.
Wilson, Riley, and Newcomb showed why they were selected in flashes, but lacked consistency. Others came and went, some may be stars one day, but so far, they’re depth.
Is that success?