John Hart Named Braves President of Baseball Operations

The Atlanta Braves are set to continue restructuring their front office by naming John Hart as the President of Baseball Operations. The team is still expected to hire a separate general manager after letting Frank Wren go near the end of the season.

The team announced the move on Wednesday:

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported the news:

David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution‎ confirmed the likely decision to eventually hire a GM to work alongside Hart in his new role:

Team president John Schuerholz talked about the hire, according to the Braves' official Twitter feed:

The Braves are coming off a highly disappointing season. They finished just 79-83, which left them 17 games behind the NL East champion Washington Nationals. The major slide came after winning 96 games en route to the division crown in 2013.

Hart, who was already serving as the club's interim general manager, brings another veteran presence to an organization that already features John Schuerholz. He's best known for helping create the successful rosters of the 1990s Cleveland Indians.

The move would seemingly open the door for current assistant general manager John Coppolella to slide into the full-time role. He's been a candidate from the outset, but Atlanta appeared hesitant to completely hand over the reigns as Hart remained a focal point.

It's unclear whether the organization is still going to go through the process of interviewing other candidates or will move quickly with Coppolella now that Hart's situation is settled.

Atlanta is focused on rediscovering its outstanding success from the 90s. Adding a key architect from that era to the front office is another step toward that goal.