Atlanta Braves: Replacements for Brian Snitker

As the season ends in a bad way, the Atlanta Braves are notably making no comments about the future of their manager

While many knew that the season would be another season of rebuilding with the Atlanta Braves, the direction the team has taken has led many to believe that manager Brian Snitker will be let go in the offseason.

Snitker’s tenure

Brian Snitker was a long-tenured minor league manager within the Atlanta Braves system when he was chosen to replace fired manager Fredi Gonzalez after 37 games last season. A second-half surge from the team once healthy allowed for a 59-65 record in 2016 for Snitker.

The Braves went through a managerial search in the 2016 offseason, finishing with three finalists – Snitker, Ron Washington, and Bud Black. Based primarily on the players’ relationships with Snitker as minor league players, he was the choice, though the team did attempt to keep on Black and Washington as well. Washington stayed, but Black chose to take a position with the Colorado Rockies, where he’s shown to be excellent with the Rockies’ young pitching in their Wild Card run this season.

Snitker had the team at .500 as late as mid-July, but once the team chose to trade off pieces and bring up young players, Snitker showed his struggles, and only the Detroit Tigers have had a worse second-half record this season. The Braves’ recent six-game losing streak to finish off the season will quite likely mean the end for Snitker.

So who will replace him? Let’s look at some of the options…

Ron Washington

Washington had an 8-year run at the helm of the Texas Rangers where he won 90 or more games 4 times and posted a .521 winning percentage. He left the Rangers in 2014 for personal reasons and had stayed away from managerial opportunities until the Braves inquired last offseason. He’s spent the 2017 season as the third base coach with the Braves.

Washington has had personal struggles, but he does have an earned reputation as a winner, having made two World Series. While he would not be the first choice to work with a team that will be young and needing a (hopefully) long-term manager due to his advanced age, Washington’s history as a winner is certainly worthy of note.

Terry Pendleton

Terry was a major part of the 1991 Atlanta Braves team that went from last place to first place, winning the 1991 National League MVP in the process and endearing himself to Braves fans for years to come. After retiring as a player in 1998, he joined the Atlanta Braves as a coach in various capacities, working as a hitting coach, base coach, and currently as the bench coach.

Pendleton is one of the most highly-regarded baseball people in the Atlanta Braves organization, and he’s been a finalist for multiple managerial jobs before. He would seem a very good selection, if the decision were to go with an internal option.

Eddie Perez

When your team has one of the best pitchers of all time in Greg Maddux, Maddux’s personal caddy catcher becomes a certain level of a folk celebrity among the Braves fan base, and that was the case with Perez. The Venezuelan was a capable backup catcher, but his value was primarily as the personal catcher for Maddux. He’s been part of the Atlanta coaching staff since he retired, primarily as the bullpen coach. He did manage in 2014-2015 in the Venezuelan Winter League, and many, including Perez, believed that was a precursor to a future major league job.

Perez was the first base coach in 2017, and he would be an excellent choice and one of the youngest options we’ll explore here. His background as a Latin player could be a very big positive in the role of manager.

Bo Porter

After a decade as a minor league and major league player, which finished with two seasons in the Atlanta Braves minor league system, Porter almost immediately found his way into coaching.

Porter was a coach with the Marlins from 2007-2009 and the Diamondbacks in 2011. The Nationals brought Porter on as their third base coach in 2011, and while serving as the Nationals third base coach, he was hired as the Houston Astros manager in 2012. He lost significant games in 2013, but that was expected with the Astros at that point in their rebuild. However, when Porter confronted the front office, the relationship soured, and though the team was taking significant steps forward in 2014, Porter was fired as the manager of the Astros in September.

The Braves hired Porter as a third base coach, and he moved up to the front office as a special assistant after the 2016 and has served in that role over the last season.

Certainly Bo would have the ear of the front office, having worked with them over the last season. He’s also an analytically-inclined manager, though he’s one that ran into some issues with his GM in Houston due to his desire to mix analytics and traditional baseball more than was desired by the front office there. Frankly, any blend of analytical thinking into on-field decision making in Atlanta would be a new direction for a manager to take, and a refreshing direction at that.

While Porter may be a choice that would seem “old guard” to a lot of fans, he would be plenty outside of the typical box in his thinking and allow for some new ideas with the team.

Dave Martinez

One of two brilliant baseball minds with Latin American roots that have been mentioned in dozens of openings over the last few years, Martinez has some history with the Atlanta Braves as a player, finishing his career in 2001 as a bench outfielder and pinch hitter for the Braves and doing quite well, hitting .287/.347/.384 in 259 plate appearances over 120 games. Martinez enjoyed a 16 year career as a major league player after being drafted by the Chicago Cubs initially, though his career was primarily as a backup outfielder.

Martinez has worked with Joe Maddon as a coach since 2007, when he initially was the Rays’ first base coach, later becoming the bench coach. He was considered a prime candidate to replace Maddon when Maddon left Tampa Bay for Chicago after 2014, but instead he joined the Chicago Cubs coaching staff as a bench coach.

Martinez is extremely well-regarded for his demeanor with players and his knowledge of the game, though he has never gone far in managerial pursuits, typically pulling his own name out of the running before getting deep into interviews.

Alex Cora

Cora is from Puerto Rico and the younger brother of another major leaguer, infielder Joey Cora. After having a very good career with the University of Miami, Cora was a bit of a journeyman utility infielder in his major league career, playing 14 seasons with the Dodgers, Indians, Red Sox, Mets, Rangers, and Nationals. He’s a rare player who was a member of both a College World Series championship and MLB World Series championship team.

Cora worked for a number of years after his retirement as the general manager of a club in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He’s also worked extensively with ESPN as a baseball analyst before taking a job in 2017 as bench coach with the Houston Astros.

Cora has been mentioned for multiple managerial openings previously and has either pulled his name out or has not been interviewed for the position. He has already been mentioned among the considerations for two other National League East jobs with the Mets and Phillies, so he will likely have plenty of interest in the offseason.

Mark DeRosa

The Atlanta Braves drafted an infielder from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 with polish and athleticism (he started three seasons at quarterback for Penn as well) in the 7th round. He quickly worked his way up to the major leagues, debuting in September of 1998. DeRosa was a fan favorite in his 7 seasons with the Braves, primarily spent as a utility player, and fans often lamented that his best seasons were seen after he left Atlanta and found full-time playing time.

DeRosa finished up a 16 year playing career with the Braves to become a studio analyst with MLB Network. He’s worked there since 2013, and he has developed a very positive reputation around the game for his insight into the game and his ability to relate to players in the game.

Still in his early 40s, DeRosa would be a young choice for manager, and he has no previous major or minor league coaching or managing experience, which has had mixed results previously with managers like Mike Matheny in St. Louis, Brad Ausmus in Detroit, Robin Ventura with the White Sox, and Walt Weiss with the Rockies.

DeRosa, however, does have a good relationship with the front office, and there were rumors floated when Fredi Gonzalez was fired in May of 2016 that the front office would strongly consider DeRosa in the offseason. He ended up not being a finalist for the job, but it would be interesting to see if he gets a longer look this offseason.