John Hart, who was serving as the Braves' interim general manager, has turned down the offer to take the job on a full-time basis, according to a report.
Sources: John Hart has turned down the Braves' offer to be GM. For now, Atlanta focused on AGM John Coppolella and Royals GM Dayton Moore.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 15, 2014
Passan also adds the Braves essentially threw a blank check at Hart, but he didn't want to assume the rigors of the 24/7 job. Hart will stay in Atlanta in an advisory role.
In addition to Coppolella and Moore, Passan also reported former Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd could be an option. That would be terrible, so let's hope it's nothing substantial. Mark Bowman tweeted that he thinks it's always been between Coppolella and Moore since Wren was fired.
As days continued to pass, it seemed less and less likely Hart would accept the job. He's got a good thing going between his advisory role with the Braves and as an analyst on MLB Network, and he's nearing the end of his career.
One more note on the Braves' GM search from Passan:
Braves have yet to speak with Dayton Moore and do not know level of interest. Doubt in Atlanta org whether he'd leave Kansas City.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 15, 2014
With the Royals now one win away from the World Series, the odds of him leaving for Atlanta are slimming by the day. That's good news, especially if it means Coppolella gets the job. He seems to be the clear-cut best option now.