ATLANTA — Citing the need to return to the “Braves way,” Atlanta Braves president John Schuerholz Monday dismissed Frank Wren as the club’s general manager with a week left in their disappointing season.
“The Braves way (of developing young players and producing championships) has been the organization’s philosophy for many, many years,” Schuerholz said. “Our overall goal is to find that Braves way, re-invigorate it and make it better than ever before.”
Wren was named general manager in October 2007 when Schuerholz was promoted to club president. Wren had spent 15 seasons with the organization.
The Braves also fired Bruce Manno, the director of player development, and said all aspects of the team’s organization would be analyzed. Manno had been with the Braves since 2007. The Braves did not fire field manager Fredi Gonzalez. However, Schuerholz said the new general manager would likely have input on the decision on who manages the team.
The decision to hire Wren’s replacement will be made the triumvirate of Schuerholz, former general manager and field manager Bobby Cox and senior advisor of baseball operations John Hart, who was named interim GM.
Hart, 66, joined the team in November 2013. A two-time Major League Executive of the Year, Hart spent 2002-05 as general manager and 2006-13 as senior advisor for the Texas Rangers. He spent 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, the last 10 as executive vice president and general manager. He currently works as an analyst with the MLB Network.
Hart, a good friend of Schuerholz, said he was not seeking the GM job on a permanent basis.
“My recommendation is that we examine the baseball universe for the next John Schuerholz,” who was the team’s GM from 1982 to 2007 and won 14 consecutive division championships and the 1995 World Series.
Hart said, “The Braves are a gold-standard franchise. Always have been. Our conversations are going to be building this back the right way. We have plenty of time to look at what works and what we like.”
Wren constructed a team that won the National League East in 2013 and qualified as a wild card team in 2010 and 2012.
The Braves entered Monday’s game with a 76-79 record, already eliminated from postseason, despite spending most of the first half in first place.
Wren was criticized for his failure with big-money free agents, which ultimately may have been his undoing.
In 2009 he signed veteran pitcher Derek Lowe to a four-year $60 million contract and Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami to a three-year, $23 million deal. The Braves ate the final $10 million of Lowe’s contract and assigned Kawakami to Double-A for his final year.
More recent big-money busts were second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder B.J. Upton. Uggla signed a five-year, $62 million contract and was released this summer, even though the club still owed him $19 million. Uggla was hitting .162 at the time of his release after batting .179 last year.
Upton signed a five-year deal for $75.25 million and is currently batting .207 with 168 strikeouts after hitting .184 with 161 strikeouts in 2013.
Wren was lauded when tying up talented young players seen as the future of the franchise with long-term deals during the off-season. He signed first baseman Freddie Freeman, shortstop Andrelton Simmons, third baseman Chris Johnson and pitcher Julio Teheran to multi-year deals.
But Wren did not add any veteran leadership to the roster when he allowed pitcher Tim Hudson and catcher Brian McCann to exit via free agency.
Schuerholz said the decision to fire Wren was a “cumulative” one because of general dissatisfaction with the farm system, scouting and major league team.
He recently approached Atlanta chairman of the board Terry McGuirk with his recommendation.
“He agreed and we moved on,” Schuerholz said.
Schuerholz said the decision was made now, rather than the end of the season, since the team had been eliminated from the postseason.
“It gives us a chance to form our committee a week sooner,” he said.
No timetable has been set to find Wren’s replacement.