Atlanta Braves: The Search for the Next Manager

Atlanta Braves Manager: Terry Pendleton and Eddie Perez

Terry Pendleton
Pendleton has been on the Braves coaching staff since 2001. He spent from 2001-2010 as the hitting coach, and once Fredi was hired as manager, he moved to the first base coach. He’s been moved to the bench coach role next to Snitker. Pendleton has been a leading candidate for a manager’s role before, but he’s removed his name from consideration each time before he could get to the final steps of the process. There was a thought that this was due to him wanting the Atlanta job.

Whether the Braves will offer Pendleton the job or not, he’s a guy who the next manager should ensure stays around on the club as an integral link to the Braves past and a guy who has always been someone willing to call players to the carpet for their behavior, and he’s also got the respect of players to do that while not in the manager’s role and still be listened to within the clubhouse.

Eddie Perez
Eddie will be moving in from the bullpen coach position to the first base coach job to allow Pendleton to move to the bench coach role. Perez has been rumored as an elite candidate for many jobs last offseason, but he chose not to interview for any jobs last offseason. As his profile increases, it will be harder to keep him from interviewing with these advancing jobs with other organizations.

Perez has tremendous respect and connection with the Latin players within the Braves system, and he also is known to be very much a player’s coach from his position. He’s been viewed by many “in the know” as the next Braves manager, and some even assumed that he was not moved to the interim role this season so as to not tarnish his managerial record, which is interesting to consider, but I do think it could be smart to have him just moving to the dugout to get the “feel” of the game from that vantage point.

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