The Braves announced Tuesday morning that they’ve exercised a club option for the 2024 season on manager Brian Snitker. He was already under contract through the 2023 campaign after signing an extension this past February, but he’s now on a guaranteed contract for the next three years.
Snitker celebrated his 66th birthday during the 2021 postseason and, not long after, celebrated the Braves’ first World Series victory in more than two decades. First named manager an interim basis during the 2016 season after Atlanta dismissed Fredi Gonzalez, Snitker quickly cemented himself in that role and shed the “interim” tag. He’s since proven himself to a pair of front-office regimes and signed a trio of short-term extensions under two different general managers. With today’s announcement, he won’t need to think about his next contract for at least a couple years.
The Braves went 72-90 in Snitker’s first full season on the job, in 2017. Since then, he’s guided the team not only to a winning record but to a division championship in each of the past four seasons. This year’s World Series roster may not have been the most talented group Snitker has ever overseen — star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and righty Mike Soroka were both shelved due to injury — but that only makes the win all the more impressive.
Snitker has spent more than four decades in the Braves organization. During his time with the club, he’s managed seven different minor league affiliates in addition to a pair of stints as the Major League bullpen coach and a pair of stints as the MLB third base coach. He was named 2018 National League Manager of the Year in his second full season on the job, and he’s finished fourth or better in each of the three seasons since.
While the World Series victory was, in many ways, the culmination of a lifetime’s worth of work for Snitker, his focus will now shift to defending that World Series crown and bringing home another championship to Atlanta over the next three seasons.
Now extend Freddie. Like Today.
Only mid-tier and bad teams have been spending money so far. I think the good teams are waiting for the CBA meetings before the open up their pay checks.
What I’m trying to say is, Freddie will be extended after the lockout nonsense.
I think Freeman becomes a dodger now as they lost some big players and there fans want a big signing; Freeman lives in Los Angeles area and would make sense for dodgers to steal a big bat from a team they might wound face in post season
No chance. These things take time. He wants to stay in Atlanta. They’ll give him the 6th year.
that still sounds crazy but the fact that it makes more sense than it did just a week ago shows how crazy FA has been so far.
The Dodgers will probably bring Kershaw back, but I don’t look for them to spend otherwise. They appear set on resetting the tax. If not, why would they not bring Chris Taylor back? By Dodger standards it likely won’t be a significant deal.
Kershaw is gone. LAD know his arm and won’t put up the kind of money TEX is intent on spending to peacock the rest of the league and host a World Series where the Rangers are in it. They can look past Kershaw’s arm concerns through addt ticket sales.
LAD are smarter with their money than that. Sure, they take on their dead contracts and pay their young stars, but there’s a reason they signed a young, elite talent like Betts, while allowing Seager to walk for a 10-year deal that will pay him until he’s 38 y/o. Their not giving into Kershaw knowing his arm issues (so far), and he’s just as much of a piece of their history as Freeman is to ATL. Turner has 1 more year until FA and I can’t see him making any less than Seager, which would mean he’d make $ until 38 y/0 (via 10 year contract). I’d be surprised if LAD give Freeman the years/dollars he’d require to leave ATL, who is intent on a compromise, as opposed to giving Freeman a blank check.
RunDMC is 100% correct. It makes no sense for the Dodgers to let Seager walk, but pay Freddie instead.
Not going to happen. But by all means, set yourself up for more disappointment.
@Ben. Freeman lives in Georgia and is FROM Los Angeles.
Freeman will not go to the Dodgers. Plus the Dodgers have a 1B in Muncy
God forbid teams try to improve.
This has been one of the best off seasons I can remember, good for the tigers and ranger and Mets for not sitting on their hands and trying to improve.
There is no law or hard and fast rule that you can’t simultaneously spend and improve your farm system in the mean time. As long as those contracts don’t prevent you from other spending, this is great for the game. This is way better than the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers always getting everyone.
We’ve seen this before. To say mixed results is being kind. These big spenders most often don’t pan out.
Dodgers have been one of the best teams the last decade and have some of the biggest payrolls and worst contracts in all of baseball.
And plus I’d much rather be a fan of a team like the Padres or Mets or Rangers who atleast try vs the Rockies, Orioles, or whoever who sit idly by for years just waiting on a farm system that may or may not come
The Dodgers have zero LEGIT championships in that time though…and only one FAKE championship. They need a better approach.
Not to mention that the World Series win 1981 was after an altered regular season as well. I believe it was the Cardinals were the ones that got jobbed. Two out of their last three World Series wins are suspect at best. Fernando mania debunked!
Agreed. 1959, 1963, 1965 and 1988 are all legitimate titles but 2020 is fake and 1981 is questionable at best. The 1955 title in Brooklyn is legit.
I’m not even a Dodger fan, but how is 2020 a “fake” championship? Everyone competed on equal footing. As a Braves fan, if they had beaten LA and won it all that season I certainly wouldn’t have considered it fake. I don’t feel it’s fair to diminish what the Dodgers did.
The Dodgers won fair and square in 2020 but the season itself was fake. It’s almost like one of those Spring football leagues but with actual NFL players. That’s the best way I can describe it.
I like Snitker to stay the Braves manager but I always wonder why teams do this. It seems a little unnecessary. He was already under contract for 2 more seasons. Why not just wait at least another season before picking up the option?
I think the Braves are definitely waiting out the market. They are betting no other team offers him the 6/200 he’s asking for. Once his market becomes a little more clear in February they will probably offer him slightly less than the top offer. If the top offer ends up being $180M that saves the Braves $20M bucks. There is risk it could backfire and someone could go crazy and offer him what he’s asking for but that seems unlikely. If the Braves can save $20M by waiting a couple months that what they should do.
I thought about the Dodgers possibly signing Freeman. I don’t think it’s out of the question. Just move Turner into Seager’s spot at SS, move Muncy to 2B and give 1B to Freeman. The DH would make it even easier. It seems really unlikely to me that the Dodgers are trying to reset the tax. They would almost have to punt the season to do it. Even after losing Scherzer and Seager, if the Dodgers also lose CT3 and Kenley Jansen they would still be millions of dollars over the limit. They would have to take all those losses without replacements and still get rid of at least one more player to get under the tax. I don’t see them losing all those guys and staying competitive without replacing them. If that was the plan they wouldn’t have just spent all that money on Heaney and Hudson. I guess a Bauer suspension could bring them down more but they still wouldn’t have much room to improve the current roster in any meaningful way. It will be tough for the Dodgers to be a great team next year if people are expecting them to spend negative $3M the rest of the offseason after losing everyone they have.
If the Dodgers signed no one I wouldn’t call it punting the season. They’d still have Martin, Muncy, Lux, Trea, Justin, Betts, Bellinger… that’s a good line up. They just need to get Bellinger straightened out.
I’m not saying it’s what I believe they should do, but it just has that vibe. I think they’re currently 3m over the line?
O
I think the dodgers were kinda of waiting for the market to set itself. There was a lot of talk about the the lock out etc. I think once the collective agreement is figured out the dodgers will be a major player either via signings or trade.
Dodgers have to make a big splash some place for their fans. Signings like what the Mets did may not be great long term but they will sell lots of season tickets.
No team has to do anything like a “splash” signing for their fans. You must be 15 years old or something. Billion dollar businesses don’t operate that way.
That’s not entirely correct, Sid. When you need to sell tickets and want to move merchandise, you do. If you don’t believe me, go look at the Orioles attendance numbers.
However, the Dodgers are plenty fine.
I hope they or them dam Dodgers are going to steals it
What?
Why are they in such a hurry to extend him?
You have other priorities like Freeman, Mullins, Reynolds, and/or Marte.
Probably because it wasn’t an extension…they picked up a team option built into his contract…took them all of one second…think that leaves plenty of time for other things…idiot
Which is in essence extending him for another year.
it’s all business that needs go get done…
Can’t call it an extension when his contract already extended that long. Team option means he’s under contract for that year if the team chooses. Learn the sport before you comment dumb things please. Just a pet peeve of mine.
The Braves would hve to give up so much for Mullins. I doubt that trade happens
I’d imagine since the contract was written already this probably took almost no time at all.
@TrumpChop; Hey, just a little off topic. I have three questions.
1. Do you think Freddie Freeman will ever win a ring with the Braves?
2. Do you think the reason why Freddie Freeman WON’T EVER win a ring with the Braves is because they didn’t sign Madison Bumgarner?
3. Do you think Acuna being overrated has anything to do with it?
>=}
Hopefully we have at least one more title by the end of 2024.
Great Snit will be around, know he is asking about Freddie. Freeman was the loudest voice to keep Snit on when he took over for Gonzo. When Freddie goes the Braves go. Get it done AA.
good on Snit for showing his doubters wrong. i didn’t agree with every choice, but he certainly got the most out of that team.
Ideally Snitker wins one more World Series and then calls it a career. He’ll be almost 70 at the end of 2024.
Maybe Freddie wanted to make sure Snitker would be there.
I’m incredibly happy to see they extended Snitker. He’s seems the type of guy the players enjoy playing for.
@app. Snitker is basically Bobby Cox. It’s good and bad. It worked last year but sometimes I wonder what he’s doing. I figure Cox probably cost the Braves at least 1 extra championship in the 90’s. Hopefully Snitker can work some magic again but I don’t think this is a repeat championship team without Freeman. Braves did all that without RAJ. Now it looks like Ozuna will be in the mix but hopefully the Braves just release him.
Tactically, I think the impact of managers is minimal. A bad manager can sabotage a team for sure; but largely if they can manage personalities and not do anything crazy, I feel any manager can do fine. To me it’s a people skills job.
The Braves 100% don’t repeat without Freeman, though. That I agree. I’d give the man the sixth year without a second thought.
Does anyone know when all the non tender news comes out? They only have til 4 today.
@james. According to another article that just popped up it’s 8pm tonight. Looks like Heredia is back for 1 million. I am praying to hear of a Camargo non tender.
I’m also really hoping Camargo is non-tendered. Whatever he costs would be a waste of resources, and it’s way past time for the Braves to move on from him.
Perfect. Now re-sign Freeman and cut Ozuna.
But they aren’t going to cut him and eat 53mm….that makes less than zero sense
They aren’t going to cut him. They will definitely try to trade him though.