Alex Anthopoulos took over the Atlanta Braves front office in the wake of the international signing scandal that has been a stain on the franchise for years. The Braves and their fans needed stability and, hopefully, a successful emergence from what was a painful rebuild. Anthopoulos delivered and helped lead Atlanta to a World Series title in 2021.
For the first few years, Anthopoulos' decisions and moves were widely praised. He successfully locked up the Braves' young core (more on that in a minute), his trade deadlines often included moves that gave Atlanta a big boost the rest of the season, and he finally started striking big on the trade market with moves for Matt Olson and Sean Murphy. For many, Anthopoulos was the bright, aggressive executive that a contender like the Braves thrives under.
However, the shine has begun to wear off Anthopoulos' tenure. A series of missteps combined with some truly rotten luck have proven to be very problematic the last couple of seasons. If the Braves can't figure out how to make a meaningful run in the 2026 playoffs, there is going to be a growing desire for real change in the front office.
Alex Anthopoulos only bought so much goodwill from Braves fans, and this year is starting to feel pivotal
To be clear, Liberty Media and the powers that be are likely happy with Anthopoulos' performance. At the end of the day, the Braves are making a ton of money, and the product on the field that Anthopoulos has assembled is a big reason why. However, that same reasoning works both ways, and that could be a problem.
Getting bounced from the playoffs early in the years since their World Series win, in addition to the disaster that was the 2025 season, understandably has Braves fans on edge. They know as well as anyone that competitive windows eventually close, and this isn't the young, scrappy Braves team that Anthopoulos took over. Guys are getting older, and while the farm system is improved, it may be a bit much to ask those prospects to come up and create the next great Braves team. With each passing year that feels "lost" (whether true or not), more and more Braves fans will become apathetic.
Making matters worse for Anthopoulos is that blame and criticism are increasingly heading his way. Some of that criticism is unfair, such as how poorly the extensions given to Austin Riley and Sean Murphy are going, as well as Ronald Acuña Jr.'s repeated injury issues. Others, like a series of rough draft classes up until 2025 and an infuriating unwillingness to truly invest in free-agent starting pitchers, are squarely on Anthopoulos' shoulders.
A real playoff run this season could change that narrative. While winning another World Series obviously would be ideal, just winning a playoff round or two would go a long way towards winning fans back over and getting them really excited about Braves baseball again. Right now, it feels like Anthopoulos is losing the fanbase, and the last thing any team wants is to be a team whose own fans don't care about. If the Braves falter again and that happens, don't be surprised if Anthopoulos' seat starts getting a bit warmer.
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