A Couple More Veteran Front Office Hires For The Atlanta Braves

Talking Chop was the first Braves site to report that the team had hired Dave Trembley as their new Minor League Field Coordinator early this week, and today we get news that the team has added a couple more veteran baseball men to their front office:

[...] Lee Elia has been tabbed as Special Assistant to the General Manager/Major and Minor League Instructor, and Bob Johnson has been named Special Assistant to the General Manager/Major League Advance Scout.

Here's what the team press release says about these two:

Elia, 73, has spent more than 50 years in professional baseball since being signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an infielder in 1958. He most recently served as a special assistant to the general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Elia was manager of the Chicago Cubs (1982-83) and the Phillies (1987-88) and has also served as a coach for the Phillies, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners.

"Lee is a veteran baseball man who really enjoys teaching the game," Wren said. "His knowledge will be invaluable, not only to our players, but to all of our managers and coaches as well."

Johnson, 63, spent the last four seasons (2007-10) with the New York Mets and has been a professional scout for 35 seasons. Prior to joining the Mets he served as an advance scout for the Texas Rangers (2005-06) and Oakland Athletics (1997-2004). Johnson has also scouted for the Montreal Expos and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations.

"Bob is one of the most respected advance scouts in all of baseball," Wren said. "We are excited to add him to our staff."

I don't have too much of an opinion on these hires other than the thought that 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. We'll see how this affects decisions in the coming years, like trades and free agents and draft picks.