The changes, in the view of some Braves’ officials, amount to nothing more than a minor restructuring of the front office. Different roles for some. Different titles but the same roles for others. Promotions in some cases, too.



Others within the organization, however, perceive the moves as the first step in a larger battle for the soul of the franchise, a highly sensitive dance between the Braves’ glorious past and promising future.



“It’s a power struggle over who is running the club,” one team official said. “Is John Schuerholz running the club or are John Hart and John Coppolella running it?”



Hart, the team’s president of baseball operations, and Coppolella, the general manager, vehemently dispute that view, sources say. Schuerholz, the vice chairman who recently was inducted into the Hall of Fame, hired both executives, speaks with them regularly and participates in meetings. Now 76, he was the...