Around baseball, Alex Anthopoulos is regarded as one of the sport’s top executives, a reputation built through a strong track record of decision-making with his clubs.
He also has excelled in an area that may not be talked about as much: Anthopoulos regularly surrounds himself with talented people, hiring the best and brightest for his front office with the Braves.
The Braves are hiring Dean Decillis as a special assistant to the general manager, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Decillis comes to the Braves from Toronto, where he worked as a special-assignment scout for the Blue Jays.
FanSided’s Robert Murray first reported the news.
Decillis’ role with the Braves solely will be in scouting. He will scout international and United States amateurs for an organization known for its scouting prowess.
Decillis is credited with finding Blue Jays All-Stars Alejandro Kirk and Santiago Espinal. Along with Toronto, Decillis has worked for Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston. He was in Toronto when Anthopoulos was the general manager there.
In a feature story on Decillis, Sportsnet, a Canadian media outlet, wrote: “Decillis carries an iron-clad reputation. He’s scouted both professional and amateur, which has strengthened his perspective on what it takes to play in the majors. He’s scouted every level of the minor leagues and has comprehensive international experience, including Latin America and Asia.
“Some evaluators fall in love with the talents of every player they come across, while others are incredibly hard to impress. Decillis falls somewhere in between. He’s even-keeled and steady, according to those who know him. The 53-year-old is also unafraid to speak up when he feels strongly about a player, even if his opinion differs from the rest of the group.”
Last week, the Braves lost Dana Brown, their vice president of scouting, when the Astros hired him as their general manager. Anthopoulos respected and trusted Brown, who had a large impact in the organization by drafting Michael Harris, Spencer Strider and Vaughn Grissom while stocking the farm system with talent.
At the time of Brown’s departure, the Braves didn’t have any specific plans to fill his job. With spring training a couple of weeks away, they will reevaluate it after the 2023 season.
