The Braves' ability to lock up young talent has been unparalleled under Anthopoulos
It is one thing to be able to make big, flashy moves that help a team for a short window of time. Dave Dombrowski has made a career of adding high-end players to his teams until the money and prospect capital dries up and then he moves on. Not only has AA added those big names during his tenure, but he has been able to lock them up for the long-term along with the homegrown talent that makes up the bulk of the Braves' core.
Remember those trades for Matt Olson and Sean Murphy? Those trades were good by themselves, but what made them great trades was that Atlanta almost immediately extended those guys on very reasonable contracts. Just like that, the Braves are set at first base and catcher for years to come.
And then there are the extensions he has given out to the Braves' young guys. Ozzie Albies' deal remains one of the most team friendly deals in all of baseball and that deal paved the way for Atlanta to lock up Ronald Acuna Jr. on an eight year, $100 contract that looks like the heist of the century. Austin Riley, Spencer Strider, and Michael Harris II have all been locked up since then on deals that keep their costs controlled and keep them in a Braves uniform for much of the next decade.
How did the Braves pull this off? Well, to put it simply, Anthopoulos has built this organization in such a way that players want to play in Atlanta. They want the team to be able to keep their core together as much as possible. Sure, some guys like Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson have left and Max Fried may soon join them. No team can have EVERYTHING they want. However, AA has gotten pretty darn close and the Braves are better for it.