Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos has caught recent fan frustration for the team's 0-7 start. This is understandable when you consider the position the Braves have put themselves in only a week into the season. However, looking at the GM's history and accomplishments in Atlanta, it becomes clear it isn't Anthopoulos who deserves the blame for Atlanta's dumpster fire of a start. While this may seem an outlandish take for the only winless team in baseball, it is the correct view.
We've seen the magic Anthopoulos can work when given the reins and the ability to spend. Consider Atlanta's historic 2021 trade deadline that set the stage for a World Series run. Consider the team-friendly extensions that have been worked out for Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider, Michael Harris, and Ronald Acuna Jr.
Atlanta's Rough Start is Squarely on the Shoulders of Ownership
The only possible reasonable criticism for Anthopoulos is how Atlanta's biggest 2025 signing has played out. Jurickson Profar was the perfect fit for Atlanta and a smart signing that went sideways in a way the front office couldn't predict. Just as it was impossible to predict each of Atlanta's core players getting off to an incredibly slow start in the first week of the season.
Atlanta's core remains talented and has given every reason to believe they can fight their way out of this hole and still be a wildcard contender. However, where the real frustration lies with many fans is the lack of offseason moves for a core that should still be a World Series contender. The decision not to add depth to the bullpen, rotation, or bench are moves that should legitimately frustrate fans.
Still, it doesn't appear to be the Atlanta GM that deserves heat for these decisions but the Braves ownership. There is a reason why the Braves have had to watch Dansby Swanson, Freddie Freeman, and Max Fried walk away over the last three years. If you're unwilling to sign a team-friendly deal early in your contract, the Braves aren't going to pay top dollar. Even for franchise cornerstones in Freeman and Swanson, who were pivotal to the team's 2021 World Series run, the Braves were going to let them walk away rather than spend.
These decisions speak to the mentality of ownership that seems to be increasingly penny-pinching. Yes, the Braves hold the eighth-highest payroll, but the team's offseason decisions and willingness to let key players walk away speaks to a group that isn't willing to see this number increase.
Consider the GM's comment in the offseason that hint at where Atlanta falls on spending. Still, fans should be frustrated when considering the team's revenue and market against their current payroll. This is a team that needed an offseason makeover to compete with the high dollar spending of the Dodgers and Phillies.
The failure to do so can be in part blamed for the team's slow start. The losses of Fried and Charlie Morton have unquestionably contributed as the team continues to lose key contributors unwilling to pay market value. In a league without a salary cap, that approach is only going to work for so long, no matter how talented your core might be.
Atlanta's flat start is due to a combination of truly awful hitting from great players and an ownership group that decided to prioritize the bottom line over winning this offseason. Until that changes, there simply isn't anything Alex Anthopoulos can do.