5. Alex Anthopoulos, Atlanta Braves, +3.5 games
His work with the Braves is noteworthy for a couple of reasons, not least of which is that Anthopoulos was no part of Atlanta’s plans until an MLB investigation turned up irregularities surrounding Atlanta’s handling of international prospects toward the end of the 2017 season.
In October that led to the dismissal – and lifetime banning from MLB — of GM John Coppolella and forced the Braves to do a quick search for a replacement. Anthopoulos, the former Toronto Blue Jays GM and at the time an executive in the Dodgers front office, was available, and in November the Braves hired him.
The sexy path would be to credit Anthopoulos for Atlanta’s sudden rise from an NL East afterthought to division champion. There is some measure of truth to that, although the reality is the Braves were positioned for a sharp upward tic even before Anthopoulos arrived. The core of the team was put in place by Coppolella and Anthopoulos’ major farm system harvest – outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. – had grown through Copollela’s system.
Giving Anthopoulos credit for “producing” Acuna and his +2.9 WAA, while technically true, is a bit misleading.
Still Anthopoulos gets credit for enhancing the Braves’ core. His pickup of journeyman pitcher Anibal Sanchez (+1.9 WAA) filled an obvious need. His re-signing of backup catcher Kurt Suzuki went largely unnoticed, but proved to be solid if unspectacular.