The Braves announced a new Assistant GM on Thursday, and it is an external hire, as they have brought in former San Diego Padres Director of Player Development Ben Sestanovich:
#Braves Name Ben Sestanovich as Assistant General Manager, Player Development: pic.twitter.com/tpGrBEBR4S
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 12, 2019
The Padres have had one of the best farm systems in baseball in recent memory, though they have recently started to use their chips in various deals. Meanwhile, Atlanta has looked to make changes throughout their player development staff since controversy struck two years ago. Last month, director of player development Dom Chiti was reassigned and assistant director of player development-personnel AJ Scola was not retained. Chiti was given this job just a year ago when Dave Tremblay was stripped of his duties. They also shook up the scouting department last season, letting go of Brian Bridges and Roy Clark.
It is clear Anthopolous is uneasy about what is going on down on the farm, and a big reason why could be the lack of production they were able to get from their flock of pitching prospects. We will see if Anthopolous’ rearranged front office will pay dividends.