Brian Snitker was at the helm of the Braves’ first World Series title in 26 years, leading the club to a championship in his fourth full season as skipper. A few months after securing the title, the 2018 National Manager of the Year chatted with Jeff Schultz of the Athletic.
The 66-year-old Snitker addressed his personal future, telling Schultz he’s still energized for another season in the wake of the World Series win. Asked how long he planned to continue managing, Snitker said he at least intends to work the remainder of his current contract. Though he was already under contract through 2023, the Braves exercised their 2024 option on his services shortly after the season.
As they prepare for what they hope to be a fifth consecutive division title, the Braves have plenty of roster maneuvering to figure out after the lockout. Hanging over the entire offseason has been the status of Freddie Freeman, who didn’t sign before the transactions freeze. Freeman and the Braves have reportedly haggled over whether his contract should include a sixth guaranteed year. With the possibility looming that he might depart, the Braves have been tied to Matt Olson and Anthony Rizzo as possible alternatives.
How ardently to pursue a Freeman reunion is a decision for ownership and the front office. Snitker, unsurprisingly, tells Schultz he’d prefer to keep the 2020 NL MVP around but pointed to the Braves’ ability to overcome losses of key players (most notably Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mike Soroka) last season. “Do I want Freddie back? Absolutely. Why wouldn’t I,” Snitker asked rhetorically. “But it may not happen. It’s the way business is. But I’m not freaking out about it right now. Last year, we lost Player A, and we kept going. We lost player B, C, D, E, F, and we just kept going. It’s what we do.”
Snitker also addressed the status of corner outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who was arrested in late May on domestic violence charges. Police at the time alleged they saw Ozuna strike his wife Genesis with a cast. A few months after his arrest, Ozuna agreed to partake in a domestic violence intervention program that could see his criminal charges eventually dropped. After spending a few months on the injured list, he was placed on paid administrative leave through the end of the 2021 season. Following the season, MLB announced a retroactive 20-game suspension for violation of the MLB – MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy, making him eligible to return to the field from the outset of 2022.
The Braves haven’t officially announced their plans for Ozuna, who is under contract through 2024. If Ozuna remains on the active roster, Snitker tells Schultz he’d have no qualms about putting him back into the lineup. “As far as I know right now, he’s going to be there,” Snitker said. “He went through the process, and he’s been cleared to play. That’s all I care about.“
Welp, based on this, Freeman is gone. Hello Matt Olsen!
Based on what, exactly? He gave a standard manager-speak answer meant to cover his bases either way.
I’d be more excited about Matt Olson than Matt Olsen.
Matt Olson is going to cost a ton of assets to acquire. I’m not sure AA will be willing to meet Oakland’s asking price. Atlanta has two highly regarded, young catchers but Oakland already has an excellent young catcher in Sean Murphy, so AA might have to deal one of Pache or Waters along with some of their top pitching prospects to acquire two guaranteed years of Olson. Rizzo might be the better choice if Atlanta/AA value their prospects as much as they seem to.
They can have Pache/Waters if they leave Michael Harris alone. OAK’s top prospect is also a C, so I can’t imagine they’d be interested in a main piece being Langeliers/Contreras, esp if they see Montas/Bassitt soon leaving to save payroll, etc. I’d imagine this will mostly address OAK’s P/OF needs.
I think the Dodgers will go after Freeman hard if they don’t think they can get him I think they pivot and trade for Olson. They would easily outbid Atlanta. I don’t think Atlanta matches real well for an Olson trade.
Based on this I would say it’s still at least 50/50 on Freddie Freeman. It sounds more like Snitker is going to let AA do his job to me and Snitker is going to worry about his own job. The biggest news I drew from this interview is that Ozuna is likely to be the Braves starting left fielder next season. I could see the Braves trading him if it helped the team but I don’t see that happening. A lot of people were expecting the Braves to trade Ozuna for next to nothing and still pay most of Ozuna’s salary at the same time. I don’t support anything Ozuna did but I have to say it would have been stupid for the Braves to hurt their team just by making a statement and getting rid of him at all costs. Ozuna is going to play major league baseball somewhere next season. There’s no reason it’s worse for him to play for the Braves then some other team. I will say that if he doesn’t perform they should get rid of him real quick. There’s no reason to pre-emptively hurt the team roster just to say you think he’s good enough to be an MLB player but not good enough to be one on your team. He just won MVP in his winter league though and he’s still young so he probably still has something good left.
I don’t condone anything Ozuna did at all but I saw the police camera footage and in typical prosecutor style the written reports made me paint a much worse picture in my head than what actually was seen take place. I would say Ozuna definitely had his hands somewhere that shouldn’t have been for a couple seconds. The picture is a lot broader than that though. He was backed up against a wall with someone the alleged victim coming at him. Usually the agresser isn’t the one who is backed up against the wall. This same woman has also been arrested for violently assaulting Ozuna before. I’m not defending Ozuna’s actions at all because he could have and should have handled it better. I’m just saying the written reports made it sound a lot worse to me than what I saw in the video. I’ve seen much worse things than that in real life and no police action was taken. The biggest charge against him was “felony strangulation.” I watched the same video the police officers had on their body cams and I just didn’t see it. I guess the judge didn’t either because the judge immediately threw that charge out. People should keep in mind that when the charges are written up they are intentionally written to sound worse on paper than they would look in real life in some cases. The police officers also didn’t see what happened leading up to that event.
Like I said, Ozuna should have just left the situation. I didn’t see some large man attacking or even intimidating women like the reports would have you believe. I saw a man being backed up against a wall by a person who had already legally been charged with assault and battery against him and it looked to me like he regrettably reacted with a fight or flight mechanism instead of using his head.
They said something in the report about him hitting her with a cast. I’m not sure how they would know that because they certainly didn’t see anything like that. You can watch the cam video yourself. It’s on the internet. Again, no excuses for what Ozuna did but I personally don’t see the things he was accused of on the body cam footage. The footage is not a good look for Ozuna at all but I hope people look it up and see if they still view Ozuna as some guy going around being threatening to a woman. I personally didn’t see that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I of course will respect their opinion but I personally saw a man reacting poorly to woman who was (and has in the past been legally charged with) trying to be threatening towards him. Missing 99% of an altercation and trying to judge someone based off only what happens in the last 1% of an altercation is usually not an accurate depiction of who that person is.
Look up Marcel Ozuna body cam footage on Google if you want to form your own opinion, though. No one will approve of what he did but ask yourself if it is worthy of facing a 20-year prison sentence and potentially losing your job while having your name smeared in the media. More importantly, ask yourself if it’s anywhere near as bad as you thought it would be after reading the reports. I welcome anyone else’s opinion and I certainly won’t say anyone is wrong for disagreeing with me. What he did was not a good thing but I do want people to watch the video and determine on their own if he looks like the monster some people have made him out to be. I’m only saying that because it surprised me once I watched the video. I was very much against Ozuna and I thought the video was going to show what I read in the reports. By the time the video was over I was surprised at how different the video was over how the reports made it play out in my mind.
Did 3 people actually read all of this?
Well if they don’t match up.. why do you continuously say “I don’t condone what he did”? What did he do exactly the was so bad? I’m curious to know becaUe it seems like you are talking out both sides of your mouth. If you feel he was done wrong just say it. Are you afraid of what some internet commenters might think of you? Peope are done wrong by the justice system and media all the time. If that’s the case say it.
@casor: The reason I said I don’t condone it ia because he should have left as soon as things started escalating and he didn’t. When she was coming towards him while he was backed up against a wall he also definitely lifted his hand up and put it somewhere he shouldn’t have. “Strangulation” was a huge leap of faith though and I think that charge was just given to him to sensationalize the whole situation in the media, which I’m guessing is the reason the judge immediately threw it out. I never saw anything even close to him hitting her with his cast or anything else at all in the video and I have no clue as to how that was even mentioned in the charge. Maybe someone said it happened before the officers got there or something but nothing at all happened like that when they were there. When I read the charges I imagined him chasing her around swinging his cast at her and doing terrible other things. The video looked more like she was chasing him around to me if anything. I didn’t want anyone to think I was saying he did something good or anything. The main point I was trying to make was what I read in the news and what I saw on video appeared to be 2 very different things which is why I wanted other people to watch the video and form their own opinion.
@Hammer
I got you. Personally if a woman or any other adult human being is charging me or whatever I don’t feel the need to back down or flee the scene. If Ozuna was defending himself against any credible threat how is that something to “ not be condoned”. Women can kill and hurt too. That being said, I do understand that many people feel women should be able to do anything and the man is always wrong. Not you per se, but the mentality does exist.
this is longer than the actual article
That’s what Hammer does…a lot.
Interesting. What your saying is the country is passing judgement on him before the real truth comes out? Oh. Yea I might have seen this quite often the last few years. Some of it even led to rioting and mass destruction. Don’t expect to see anything different.
@Braveslifer even is Freeman doesn’t return, we are not getting Matt Olsen. His price is far more than what AA is willing to pay.
Is she the skinny one?
She’s the one with use of both of her arms and no injury. It might be hard to tell that from the video but she is the one very close to him and going towards him while he is the one backed up against the foyer wall.
“He’s been cleared to play. That’s all I care about.” The fact that he beat his wife? No worries there? In a MLB that rewards managers who cheat what can one expect from these guys?
Yeah, that wasn’t a great answer to that question. I’m wondering if he elaborated on the subject a little more but the Athletic and/or MLBTR writer only used this particular quote in the article. Every manager knows they have to denounce these unacceptable actions in a public setting. I’d be really surprised if that’s all he said about the situation.
GA, he is a manager who has to field the players he has. Snit can’t say, ‘I am personally disturbed by his actions and won’t play him regardless.’ He plays the 26 he has. You seem to need to blame Snit for the situation Ozuna is accountable for. If mlb says he is cleared to play after an investigation—-what can the Braves do? Anyone can say cut him—if the Braves had the payroll that could absorb that sure. Sadly they don’t. If you watched the video and got ‘he beat his wife.’ Okay. He should not have shoved her. He is accountable for that regardless. What Snit said ‘a lot if other players have done a lot worse….Chapman etc and people moved on. Snit said the truth. Other players have done much worse and are still playing. What else can he say?
yep, that’s a good way to put it. Snit could sit him all 162 but there are serious logistical concerns there and who knows what Liberty will say about that. really he should have just plead the 5th on that question there though.
Dodging the question accomplishes nothing. Reporters will keep asking him his thoughts on the subject. Snitker is welcoming Ozuna back. If other players have an issue now, they can address Snitker himself or the front office. Gotta keep the ball moving for everyone.
Because going public about how horrible of a person Ozuna is is a sure fire way to create an uncomfortable clubhouse from Day 1 when the front office tells the team he’s going to be there in uniform.
Baseball is a business. If your company hired someone who you knew was scum but never charged are you gonna in to work every day and cause trouble with that person because you don’t like them on a personal level? Doubtful or you’ll be the one without a job.
Snitker did the professional thing. It’s not his call whether he’s on this team. If you want to be mad at someone as a fan be mad at the FO, not the guy that’s given a group of players and told to make it work.
Anecdote: I used to work with a guy in enterprise software sales. Total nightmare in the office but we’re good friends outside of it still to this day. I was one of his groomsman. He was consistently the top salesman in the company. When we merged with another company, he was made head of sales and I would be working under him. I quickly transferred to a different dept.
Except, he didn’t beat his wife. All felony charges were dropped. The initial reports and statements from the female officer on the scene were that he hit her with his cast and had her pinned against a wall, strangling her.
Subsequently it was released that Ozuna took his wife’s phones, and she was chasing him around the house. Watch the body cam. She’s still going after the phones until the cops show up. He drops the phones, and she immediately dives on them like a fumbled football. But nowhere do you see him doing what the female officer claimed when they entered the house. She was lying.
What he did was wrong but he didn’t “beat” his wife
“He beat his wife”…
It’s clear you are not informed on the subject.
You’ve got criminals putting guns to people and stealing their stuff walking the streets because the system is ‘unfair’ and you want to throw the book at Ozuna for a push?
It is a glass half full perspective. He says everything here – “Do I want Freddie back? Absolutely! Why wouldn’t I?” and “Last season we lost player A, and we kept going”. He is a manager who is in charge of managing the talent provided. All bases covered and no new news. Can’t wait for baseball to be back!
Braves over White Sox when the lockout ends in 2024
Snit can’t go against his boss the GM by saying anything out of line. Conversations between he and AA are not going to show up in a published article. Snit wants FF there just like most of Braves Country. The uncertainty with the labor agreement and cautious approach by the Front Office is in line with how they conduct business. I still hold out hope they will figure it out to keep Freddie a Brave.
Ozuna coming back all but seals Bauer’s eventual return. Trevor wasn’t even arrested in his situation. Do people actually think the Dodgers will pay Bauer 60 million to not pitch for them. Just like how the Braves aren’t gonna pay Ozuna 40 million to not play for them
I may have missed an update, but Bauer is still pending investigation, meaning he still could be charged. So I wouldn’t compare the two until the police close the investigation by recommending charges or not.
Bauer and Ozuna have completely different situations. Ozuna’s charges were essentially dropped because it turns out the cops greatly exaggerated his assault, which turned out to be no more than a shove, still wrong and deserving of the punishment he got. Bauer’s case is still ongoing and may result in more severe punishment, not only from MLB, but from law enforcement.
I don’t think the Dodgers will have him pitch for them again whether he’s still being paid or not. If Bauer is cleared he will probably play somewhere. Yankees?
Yeah, his time in LA is all but finished. The bad news is that’s probably a $60-70 million sunk cost, but at least it’s only two years and not five or more.
I didn’t follow his market closely last year, but I reckon he cost himself upwards of $75 million (if not more) by opting for the short-term, high AAV deal instead of cashing in. If he ever comes back and pitches well, he’ll still make plenty of millions, but his nine-figure deal days are over.
I feel Snit handled each question fine. It does him or the Braves no good to outright say they don’t want him back. His value is already almost irreparably-low; there’d be no reason for teams to take on his contract if the Braves told everyone he’s not coming back regardless. And in the event he does come back, you just add fire to an already toxic situation by saying you wish he wasn’t there. Watch what the Braves do, not what they say.
The Dodgers will welcome him with open arms.
“That’s all I care about.” Wow, not sure how to think about Snitker now. Terrible answer. It’s not hard to condemn assaulting your own wife!
@sfes
This is the question and answer as published in full….
It’s a far different situation, but with Marcell Ozuna eligible to return after his suspension following domestic violence charges, would you have any hesitation in him playing on your team?
No. As far as I know right now, he’s going to be there. He went through the process, and he’s been cleared to play. That’s all I care about. He’s in the Dominican, and I pull up the box scores, and it looks like he’s doing good. There’s a lot of guys out there, and it’s amazing how people forget. There’s a lot of guys who’ve played against us who’ve probably been in worse situations than he was. It seems like people have a tendency to forget or forgive. But that remains to be seen, too, I guess.
While I’ll go with whatever the Braves do – as you can make the case for both – but remember Bobby Cox when he admittedly drank too much during the season and admittedly put his hands on his wife during an argument that he said went too far, but did not cause the marks on her face that caused her to call the police. Claims that he made with his wife/victim by his side only a few days later in a public press conference, while he missed no games managing. She is still by his side.
This “that’s all I care about” is a really bad look. Braves need to hold their players to a higher standard if paying them to be the million-dollar faces of the franchise to your kids, justifying putting hands on women.
This is the same team that gave a 4-year contract to Ozuna AFTER his wife was arrested for domestic battery charges and they were still together. Anyone surprised that altercation happened?
I’m guessing Freeman is gone. The fact that it’s gone this far is a pretty bad look for the organization. Unless someone is just offering him insane money, there is no reason the Braves can’t and should beat any reasonable offer.
That said, if we don’t resign Freddie, and Ozuna is a starter for us, that’s an even worse look for the organization imo. I believe in second chances, but we all saw what Ozuna did in that video. It’s not even debatable and completely unacceptable. How can I let my kids watch him play? How can I feel good about an organization that lets one of the most standup guys (freeman) walk because of money, but holds on to scum of the earth because of money?! It’s painful and he’s got to go. Trade him to a team that is willing to handle the PR shame. Absorb most of his contract if you have too. Heck, cut him straight up. But he should not be a brave… and Freddie should…
Ozuna will be your DH for the next three seasons. They’re not cutting him.
I’d rather have Soler as the DH.
Raise your kids right.
This should provide an opportunity explain that ballplayers are probably not the best role models or whatever. Indeed, they are oftentimes quite terrible role models.
@Ducky, yes. Baseball players represent a microcosm of society. There’s a full range of people and personalities. Some come from rich families, some come from dirt-poor families, there are caucasian, Black, Hispanic, Asian, alcoholics, atheists, Evangelicals, etc. There are very decent people, there are people with emotional problems. I understand the OP’s view, but we can’t jettison off every person we don’t like. That’s part of the problem. You can teach children way more by showing both the good examples and the bad examples.
You put that far better than I was able to.
I think this post should be put on the top of every thread for the next 6 months.
True, but sports is supposed to be a form of escape for people from the drudgery of the day and the constant negative press in this country. We would do a lot better to show kids what is right by all the teams coming together to help pay Ozuna’s salary so they can cut him. And issue a statement sayi g MLB os not going to allow a known scum like him to represent the league. Will never happen, of course and in fact can’t happen given MLB’s bylaws. But the only thing kids learn from this debacle is that crime pays. And that’s certainly not what we want to teach them.
“all teams coming together to help pay Ozuna’s salary so they can cut him.” — yes, I want to be on that call with other teams to ask for donations to pay off a player to make him a free agent so he can go and play against the Braves — or not at all. So he gets paid NOT to perform and some other team is paying for it — and that’s sending the right message?
Doesn’t seem like the learned lesson will be accountability other than once you sign something, it’s iron-clad, and moral clauses in said contracts are impossible to enforce.
Well said bravesfan.
I’m still confident that Freddie is coming back to Atlanta. Not a Braves fan (or hater), so this is just my feeling as a baseball fan. Of course, it won’t matter much if there’s no season. Get back to the table and work this thing out!!! There, that ought to do it…
Can Freeman not back himself ?
If he wants to be that one club guy, can there not be some onus on him to make that happen. Take 5 years and perform to the contract. Club gives him a one year deal at the end of it. Everyone’s a winner. The only issue being perform.
I could see 5 years with a vesting option and/or a large buyout on the sixth year.
If Ozuna remains on the roster while they let Freddie walk, AA might actually have to start attending AA meetings. Absolutely pathetic.
The 3 years and $52 million remaining on Ozuna’s contract says he’ll still be around
I love Snit, but player Alphabet doesn’t = Freddie Freeman