Talking Chop

The past few weeks the Braves have been filling out their front office staff with veteran baseball men, former managers like Dave Trembley and Lee Elia. But today the team has finally brought in some young blood to learn under Frank Wren and John Schuerholtz. From StlToday.com:

Matt Carroll, manager of professional scouting, is leaving the Cardinals to accept a position as special assistant to Atlanta Braves general manager Fran Wren.

Carroll, 29, is widely considered one of the industry's most promising young executives and projects for some as a future general manager. The Braves contacted Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak on Wednesday afternoon for permission to speak with Carroll. Those talks culminated in Carroll's acceptance this morning. [...]

The Braves hired Carroll largely on the recommendation of former director of player development Bruce Manno, who now serves as Wren's assistant general manager.

Sounds like a solid hire, and I like that they're getting at least one younger executive in the front office. Three weeks ago after the Braves hired Elia and another veteran scout I had this to say:

[...] while many baseball clubs are going with a younger breed of front office hires (many of whom come from the new world of statistical analysis), the Braves seem to be going with a litany of "old dogs" to fill out their front office positions. Maybe that was a bit harsh, really it should probably read "veteran baseball men," guys that have been around the block a few times.

That's not necessarily the wrong way to go, I just find it interesting that they certainly are bringing in a more veteran staff, when it seems that most other teams are going younger.

I like the idea of getting a great up-and-coming exec into our front office, so this move rates high in my book, even though it is a somewhat minor behind the scenes move.