The news that Brian Snitker was retiring as the Atlanta Braves manager wasn't a complete surprise, but it instantly created some real urgency for the team to act quickly and replace him with a steady and capable hand. There is no shortage of obvious candidates that are going to be in play for the Braves, but Atlanta could potentially go off the beaten path a bit with their managerial choice.
Walt Weiss is the frontrunner amongst the internal options that also includes Fredi Gonzalez. It is safe to say that if Atlanta goes with Gonzalez, it would not be a popular choice. Former Braves catcher David Ross sounds interested in the job, though there is no guarantee that he will get heavy consideration given all of the other options available.
One name to keep a close eye on is former Blue Jays manager. Not only does he have ties to the Braves front office and has been mentioned as potential candidate to replace Snitker already, but Gibbons just stepped aside as the Mets' bench coach on Friday.
News: Mets bench coach John Gibbons is stepping aside.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) October 3, 2025
Timing of John Gibbons leaving the Mets could be clue to Braves' manager search progress
There are a lot of guys currently without manager jobs, including Ron Washington, that could be in play for Atlanta, but Gibbons' case is unique. Alex Anthopoulos is very familiar with Gibbons going back to his days in Toronto and is said to be quite fond of him. In addition to that, it was just a couple years ago that Gibbons was working for the Braves as a scouting advisor before taking the Mets' bench coach job.
Gibbons would check a lot of boxes. He is an experienced manager who knows how to work with Anthopoulos and it certainly wouldn't hurt that stealing Gibbons from the New York would be a nice extra benefit. Gibbons would also be a new voice which could go a long way towards jumpstarting a Braves team that has looked stagnant (and unhealthy) the last couple of years.
That said, Gibbons is far from a perfect fit. His track record as a manager is rather mixed and the only reason Gibbons is available right now is because he was culled along with a chunk of Met coaches after they collapsed at the end of the season.
Still, this is a new name with real connections to the Braves that hasn't really been talked about much. Depending on how thorough the Braves are going to be with their search for a new manager, we could see even more new names pop up during the process.