Frank Wren

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Frank Wren (born March 17, 1958, St. Petersburg, Florida) is an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. Wren is currently general manager of the Atlanta Braves.

Wren attended St. Petersburg Junior College in his native city. He joined the front office of the Montreal Expos as assistant director of scouting in 1987. In September of 1991, Wren's boss, Expo GM Dave Dombrowski, accepted the position of general manager of the Florida Marlins, a National League expansion franchise set to begin play in 1993. Wren followed Dombrowski to the Marlins as the club's assistant general manager. He was promoted to vice president in 1996.

In 1997, a veteran-laden Marlin club won the franchise's first World Series championship. The following year, in 1998, owner H. Wayne Huizenga would order his front office to divest the team of its high-priced veterans and the Marlins spiraled into the basement of the National League East Division. Neverthless, Dombrowski, his front office and his farm system were considered among the best in baseball.

When Pat Gillick resigned as GM of the Orioles at the close of the 1998 season, Wren was recruited as his replacement. But the 1999 Orioles were a major disappointment. The club finished six games under .500 despite one of the highest payrolls in the game and the signing of free agent slugger Albert Belle to the most lucrative contract in baseball at the time. During the season, Wren was criticized publicly by Baltimore owner Peter Angelos and his family, and when the season ended, Wren was fired after less than a full year on the job.

He then joined the Braves as top aide to longtime Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz, a position that he held for almost eight years.

On October 11, 2007, John Schuerholz was named president of the Braves and Wren was named GM, signing a four-year contract.

[edit] References

• Baseball America Executive Database
• "The Orioles and Tigers Go Out and Thoroughly Embarrass Themselves," The New York Times, Oct. 17, 1999.

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