As the 2025 campaign comes to a close this weekend, the Braves’ first order of business this offseason is figuring out who will be managing the club in 2026.
Most expected Brian Snitker to retire, with some even treating it as a foregone conclusion regardless of how the team performed this year. However, Snitker pushed back on that notion earlier this season, citing “unfinished business” and saying he had not yet made up his mind about his future.
That decision will have to come soon, but there’s also the question of whether the Braves want Snitker back in the dugout. The team has steadily declined over the past two seasons, missing the postseason for the first time since 2018. Snitker, like most of the roster, bears some responsibility for the club’s struggles, but his track record speaks for itself.
My stance has not changed: if Brian Snitker wants to keep managing, he will be the manager of the Atlanta Braves in 2026. And it appears Chris Sale, the 2024 NL Cy Young winner, agrees.
“I would think it’s probably mainly up to him, if you were to ask me,” Chris Sale said, via David O’Brien of The Athletic. “Obviously, I know that the ownership and front office have their say as well. But he’s been doing this a long time, and I think that he’s earned the right to give his nod one way or the other. I know that we, as players, we respect him, and guys love playing for him.
“This guy’s been around the game. He knows how to handle guys — young guys, old guys, veterans … it doesn’t matter who you are, you can go in his office and what he says is what he means. I think when it comes to that, we got more games to play and we want to focus on that, and once the offseason gets here, we’ll see what he says.”
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Alex Anthopoulos sits across from Brian Snitker and pins the team’s struggles on him. If anything, Anthopoulos should be looking in the mirror. This team was doomed from the start because of unthinkable negligence when it came to roster construction.
Snitker might not be the best manager in baseball, but he’s far from the worst. He’s spent 49 years with the organization, and under his watch the Braves have reached the playoffs in seven of eight seasons, won six division titles, and captured the franchise’s second World Series since moving to Atlanta 50 years ago.
If the Braves believe there’s a better option available, they shouldn’t close that door, but it’s hard to argue there are many better candidates just sitting at home waiting for a shot.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire