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The Atlanta Braves announced on Wednesday that longtime manager Brian Snitker will transition to an advisory role ahead of the 2026 season, his 50th with the franchise in some form or another. The Braves, then, will join the group of clubs looking to hire a new skipper this offseason. There are now eight managerial openings in Major League Baseball.
Snitker, who will celebrate his 70th birthday on Oct. 17, had been Atlanta’s manager since taking over on an interim basis for Fredi Gonzalez during the 2016 campaign. Over parts of 10 seasons, he won 54.8% of his regular season games and ranked third in overall Braves franchise history in wins, behind Bobby Cox and Franke Selee. He led the Braves to six consecutive National League East titles from 2018-23, as well as the 2021 World Series title that represented the club’s second since relocating from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966.
Prior to becoming Atlanta’s manager, Snitker had served in a variety of roles throughout the organization, ranging from big-league coach to minor-league manager and just about any and everything in between. The Braves, fittingly, announced that he will be inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame prior to a game next season.
It’s unclear who, exactly, the Braves will target to become their next manager. Despite a down season that saw the Braves win just 76 games and finish outside of the playoff picture, Atlanta’s job would seem more attractive than most, if not all of the other positions that have been made available to date.
Besides the Braves, the Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Angels are seeking new skippers. The Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, and Colorado Rockies all made changes in-season, and have yet to make decisions about the interim managers who finished the season.