Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported that the Atlanta Braves have named interim GM John Hart the President of Baseball Operations on Wednesday morning. John Hart has signed a three-year deal through the 2017 season, the first season the Braves will be playing in their new ballpark SunTrust Park.
Braves' president John Schuerholz made a statement regarding the hire, “I’m delighted that John Hart has agreed to accept the position of President, Baseball Operations. Our organization is now poised to move forward in the best possible manner to do the important work that lies ahead. John’s credentials speak for themselves. He has had great success as a baseball executive and demonstrated remarkable ability to construct championship teams. We are excited by John’s dynamic and positive leadership style and look forward to him leading our baseball operations.”
According to Rosenthal, Atlanta is still set to hire a permanent GM under Hart as they fired former GM Frank Wren a week before the regular season ended. The leading candidates for the position are Braves' assistant GM John Coppolella and Kansas City Royals' GM Dayton Moore who worked under John Schuerholz when he was the general manager.
This is just another move the Braves have made to restructure their front office in hopes of putting together a team that resembles the great teams Atlanta had in the 90’s. Putting Hart in this position is a step in the right direction.