Braves CEO Terry McGuirk: Team expects MLB investigative findings 'within two weeks'
ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves CEO Terry McGuirk spoke with Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday morning and expects to receive the findings from the league office’s investigation into the organization’s talent acquisition practices in the near future.
“We expect to hear from them in the near future,” McGuirk said at a news conference introducing new general manager and executive vice president Alex Anthopoulos. “I think we’re talking two weeks, within two weeks.”
The league is investigating the allegations of organizational misconduct in both the domestic draft and international market that led to the resignation of former general manager John Coppolella and international scouting director Gordon Blakely in October. President of baseball operations John Hart was also moved to an advisory role as Anthopoulos steps in to head the department.
McGuirk said Manfred told him the investigation has been “completed for some time.”
The longtime Braves executive opened Monday’s news conference with a direct statement to fans and team partners.
“The past few months have been the toughest in the storied history of the Atlanta Braves franchise,” McGuirk said. “Frankly, the Braves have not lived up to our standard that the fans expect of us and that we expect of ourselves. On behalf of the entire Braves family, I want to apologize to the fans and our partners. We’ve let you down and we will work to regain your trust.”
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For his part, sitting on stage with McGuirk, Anthopoulos said the potential penalties did not factor into his decision to accept the position. The 40-year-old signed a four-year contract.
“Long term from my standpoint — the criteria for me, more than anything else, who are you going to work for and who are you going to work with? Regardless of what the fallout was going to be or what the sanctions may or may not be, that’s not gonna change who I’m gonna go to war with day in and day out, and who I’m gonna work with,” Anthopoulos said. “That’s what excited me about this job. … You just deal with those challenges and we’ll get through them.”
