Braves fire Wren; John Hart named interim GM
Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – The Atlanta Braves have fired general manager Frank Wren.
Braves president John Schuerholz announced the decision Monday, a day after the club was officially eliminated from playoff contention.
The Braves were tied for first place at the All-Star break and still in the hunt for a wild card berth heading into the final month, but a 4-14 mark in September has dropped the team to 76-79 entering Monday’s action.
“It was a cumulative effect,” said Schuerholz about the reason for his decision at a Monday news conference. “Over time, we just felt for the well- being of our organization and the well-being of our major league team that the time had come for us to change directions with our baseball operations leadership.”
John Hart has been named the interim GM. Hart, who joined the Braves in November 2013 as a senior advisor, was a highly successful general manager for the Indians and Rangers. He also currently serves as an analyst for the MLB Network.
Schuerholz, Hart and former manager Bobby Cox will lead the search for a full- time general manager.
The future of Braves manager Fred Gonzalez has not yet been discussed.
“I have not spoken to (Gonzalez) about that particular matter,” Schuerholz added. “The goal of our transition team is to take our time and evaluate the organization from top to bottom. When we get to the point where decisions are made and we need to communicate with people, we’ll do that then, but we have not begun that process.”
Wren had been the club’s general manager since October 2007, taking over the baseball operations when Schuerholz moved into the role of president. The Braves reached the playoffs three times under Wren, including an NL East championship last year.
However, Atlanta lost in the division series in 2010 as a wild card and again last year, while also losing in the NL wild card game in 2012.
The Braves enjoyed tremendous success under Schuerholz from 1991-2007, winning 14 division titles, five National League championships and the 1995 World Series.
Wren was in his 15th season with the Braves, first serving as Schuerholz’s assistant from 2000-07.
Categorized in: MLB
Tags: Atlanta, Atlanta Braves, Braves