The Braves hire a general manager. It’s not Dayton Moore

Once thought to be highly interested in the Royals’ Dayton Moore, the Atlanta Braves hired another accomplished executive to become their next general manager. The club has chosen Alex Anthopoulos, a former general manager in Toronto and current vice president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The hire was first reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post late Sunday night and announced Monday as Major League Baseball commences its annual general manager’s meetings at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando.

The Braves zeroed in on Moore, a former Braves executive under John Schuerholz, after an MLB investigation into its front office led to the resignation of general manager John Coppolella in early October. The organization reportedly skirted multiple rules in the international player market. The results of the investigation and possible penalties are forthcoming.

The Braves moved on after Royals owner David Glass refused to grant permission for the club to interview Moore, who remains under contract.

Moore was unlikely to move to Atlanta unless he supplanted John Hart, the team’s president of baseball operations, as the top executive on the baseball side. Hart will move into an advisory role, while Anthopoulos will wield most of the power in baseball decisions.

For the Royals, the news offers a measure of comfort as a pivotal offseason continues. Moore is entering his 12th full season as the Royals’ general manager and chief decision-maker. He guided the club to consecutive World Series in 2014 and 2015, winning the club’s second championship in ’15.

It remains unclear whether the interest from the Braves may spur another contract extension. Moore signed his last contract — for an undisclosed length — before the 2016 season. But as the investigation into the Braves continued, he was linked to the job for weeks. Moore spent more than a decade with the Braves as a scout and executive before taking over as Royals general manager in 2006. His ties to the organization and Schuerholz, its current vice chairman, made him a natural candidate for the job.

Anthopoulos, 40, served as the Blue Jays’ general manager from 2009 to 2015, guiding the team back to the postseason after a long drought. He departed following the arrival of new club president Mark Shapiro, a former executive in Cleveland.

Anthopoulos spent the past two seasons working under Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, in Los Angeles.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 8:25 AM with the headline "The Braves hire a general manager. It’s not Dayton Moore."