For better or worse, Braves' new regime axed a whole lot more longtime minor league people than Dave Trembley. It happened quietly in October.
Among the 2018 managers, Luis Salazar, Rocket Wheeler and Randy Ingle have all been sent packing, Ingle's departure especially has a number of people upset. No one going on record, of course, else they join him on unemployment line. Ingle had been with the Braves for 41 years, Wheeler for 16, Salazar for eight.
Ingle was an on-field manager for 26 of those seasons, five times being named the system's minor league manager of the year -- the Bobby Cox Award. He managed Rome to the Sally League title in 2016 and took them to the playoffs again in 2017.
Wheeler has landed on his feet, hired by the Nationals to skipper Auburn Doubledays (NYP).
Also notable was the retirement of Mississippi GM Steve DeSalvo, who was first hired by the Braves in 1987. Gwinnett GM North Johnson also resigned after eight seasons. Accounts indicated that both were "unexpected." The Braves own both franchises outright.
In light of all this, Brian Bridges probably saw the writing on the wall long before the axe fell.
