Atlanta Braves Coaching Changes Announced

While the Atlanta Braves retained Snitker, Seitzer, and Hernandez, there are new faces on the bench and beyond

During MLB’s investigation into a wide array of wrongdoing by former team officials, the Atlanta Braves‘ front office has stayed rather quiet. Outside of a few roster moves, hardly a peep has been heard since news of these transgressions broke.

There is no word on the results of the investigation yet, but some news did drop on Friday afternoon. The team announced its coaching staff for 2018:

Brian Snitker will be retained as manager, as reported shortly after  the scandal broke. As expected, former Braves Terry Pendleton and Eddie Perez will not return to the field staff next season.  Both have been offered off-field positions within the team.

Pendleton, a former All-Star infielder with the Braves, will be replaced by another former All-Star Braves infielder, Walt Weiss. Weiss was an All-Star with Atlanta in 1998. Weiss also served as Rockies manager from 2013-2016. He will work directly with Snitker, and the hope is that Weiss’ analytical bent will influence Snitker’s in-game decisions.

Perez will be replaced as first base coach by Eric Young, Sr. Young has previously served as first base coach in Arizona and Colorado, the latter where he was a member of Weiss’ staff.

Sal Fasano will join the team as catching coach. Fasano comes from the Blue Jays, where he held roles as Minor League manager, as well as Minor League coordinator for pitching and catching. During his journeyman career, Fasano was a Richmond Brave back in 2008. He is best known for an amazing Fu Manchu mustache.

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Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer will return, as will assistant hitting coach Jose Castro. Ron Washington will be retained as third base coach. Wash stands with Weiss as a candidate to inherit the managerial role should Snitker falter.

Also poised to return is pitching coach Chuck Hernandez, who has been a polarizing figure for the Braves. Many fans were unimpressed by the performance of several of the team’s young pitching prospects. This been Hernandez’s specialty in the past, as he was instrumental in the development of Justin Verlander, Jose Fernandez, and Troy Percival, among others.

Hernandez served as roving Minor League pitching coordinator for the team prior to his appointment as big league pitching coach. The Braves have been hoping their deep stash of pitching prospects will benefit from working with him across multiple levels.

Next: What to expect from Swanson in 2018?

The next move for the Braves will be to name a GM and possibly a new President of Baseball Operations. If Jerry Crasnick of ESPN’s recent tweet regarding the timeline for MLB’s investigation is any indication, this coaching announcement could be the last we hear out of the Braves front office for a while.