ATLANTA -- Longtime Braves head athletic trainer Jeff Porter will move away from his daily responsibilities and remain with the club as a senior advisor. He will be replaced by George Poulis, who spent the past 15 seasons as the head athletic trainer for the Blue Jays.
Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos served as Poulis' boss during his time as the Blue Jays' GM from 2009-15. The opportunity for this reunion was influenced by Porter's desire to cut back on his travel and the time commitments he has made while spending the past 33 seasons serving as either Atlanta's head or assistant athletic trainer.
Porter, who spent the past 15 seasons as Atlanta's head athletic trainer, plans to attend Spring Training and most of the team's home games during the regular season. But he plans to skip most of the road trips.
Poulis spent three seasons as Toronto's assistant athletic trainer before taking the head job in 2003. He spent 10 seasons as an athletic trainer in the Padres system before joining the Blue Jays.
The Braves also announced that Andrew Hauser will now serve as director of performance and assistant athletic trainer. Jim Lovell will also remain an assistant athletic trainer as he enters his 34th season within the Braves' organization.