Following the departure of Freddie Freeman, the Braves will have to deal with the loss of Dansby Swanson. In back-to-back offseasons, Atlanta has seen the face of their franchise and clubhouse leader depart in free agency. GM Alex Anthopoulos told Dukes and Bell of 92.9 The Game that replacing his leadership will have to be a collective effort:
“It needs to be a collective thing. obviously Dansby oozed (leadership) but it needs to be a collective thing. Organically our guys have come together.” Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos to @MikeBellATL @putemupcdukes on leadership in the clubhouse without Dansby Swanson
— DukesandBell929 (@DukesandBell929) February 13, 2023
The Braves have such a high-quality culture within the organization that this isn’t an issue I am really worrying about. There are countless options to step into the role that Dansby Swanson held and Freddie Freeman before him. Austin Riley, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Tavis d’Arnaud, Ozzie Albies, and Matt Olson are all considered leaders in the clubhouse.
Terry McGuirk gives Alex Anthopoulos the resources needed to get the job done. A healthy workplace environment is essential, and Alex Anthopoulos places a premium on that. He’s done a masterful job hiring the right people who want to do everything they can to help the organization succeed.
AA has assembled a team filled with good people who just so happen to also be really good at playing baseball. Replacing Swanson in the clubhouse won’t be done by one person; it’ll be a group effort, which Austin Riley told reporters at Braves Fest.
“I think Alex has done a good job of getting a good core group of guys where it doesn’t have to be one person to lead the clubhouse. It could be whoever,” Riley said, via Battery Power. “I think we all as a group have the same mindset, have the same goals, have the same values to where it kind of monitors itself. When things aren’t going well, we don’t hit the panic button. It’s not like there’s going to be a bunch of tension in the clubhouse. We’re not pointing fingers. I don’t think there’s going to be any of that. I know [there’s] not. I don’t think there’ll be any issues as far as a leader standpoint.”
Nobody should be worried about any one individual making or breaking the Braves organization.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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