Report: Braves interim GM John Hart turns down full-time offer
Atlanta Braves interim general manager John Hart turned down an offer from the team to take the job full-time, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Passan also reported that the Braves have focused their general manager search on John Coppolella, the team's assistant general manager, and Dayton Moore, the general manager of the Kansas City Royals.
Hart was named the team's interim general manager after Frank Wren was fired near the end of the season. Under Wren, who was promoted to general manager before the 2008 season after serving as an assistant to longtime general manager John Schuerholz, the Braves made the playoffs three times, all coming from 2010-13, but the team slumped to a 79-83 record this season after going 96-66 in 2013.
The former general manager of both the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, taking the former to the World Series twice, Hart joined Atlanta last offseason as a senior adviser. He said upon taking the interim GM job that he wasn't interested in pursuing the position full-time and was only taking it on an interim basis as a favor to his friend Schuerholz, who's now the team's president.
• VERDUCCI: Vogelsong a surprising October star
As interim general manager, Hart has announced that manager Fredi Gonzalez will return next season and has hired Roy Clark and Gordon Blakeley as special assistants to the GM.
Coppolella, 35, was hired by Wren and has been with the team since 2006.
Moore, 47, has been the GM of the Royals since 2006. He had worked for the Braves prior, beginning in 1994. He eventually rose to an assistant GM role in late 2005. Under Moore's direction, the Royals made the playoffs this season for the first time since 1985 and currently hold a 3-0 lead in the ALCS over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Braves haven't won a postseason series since 2001.
• CORCORAN: ALCS Game 4 preview: Royals look to sweep
- Ben Estes
