Overall
Anthopoulos has been so talented this year at two of a GM’s essential skills — dealing with his fellow GMs and navigating the free agent market — that his farm system shortcomings can readily be overlooked. While his report card is replete with ups and downs, the ups far outweigh the downs.
Here’s the first half report card on the Anthopoulos front office. Note that grades for players departing the organization are based on the reverse of those players’ WAAs with their new teams.
Mode WAA Grade
Acquired +1.9 B
Traded -0.6 C
Signed +4.1 A
FA Lost +1.3 D
Rookies -1.2 D
Overall +4.1 A
We may not find a better general manager at team-to-team acquisitions than Anthopoulos scores with his +1.9. Remember, the other GM probably knows what he’s doing, too. Yet Anthopoulos attracted nine fresh faces to the Braves roster from competitor GMs, and five of those nine produced positive value for the Braves against only two that went negative.
It was the same story when Anthopoulos went shopping for free agent talent. He signed, re-signed or extended eight of them, an uncanny seven of whom delivered positive results. The cost came in outgoing free agent talent — principally shortstop Dansby Swanson.
His rookie class, expected to be a strength, has been a disappointment. But that doesn’t overshadow the body of work Anthopoulos has presented since the end of the 2022 season.