Watching Brewers star catcher William Contreras make a name for himself this postseason has been bittersweet for Atlanta Braves fans. While Braves country no doubt wishes their former All-Star catcher well, it continues to be a sore spot considering the regrettable trade that sent Contreras to Milwaukee.
In addition to Contreras's performance this postseason, the two-time Silver Slugger catcher's tenure with Atlanta was rehashed when his appearance on Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr's podcast went viral when the pair criticized an unnamed former coach.
While fans initially believed the two were referring to former manager Brian Snitker, Braves beat writer Mark Bowman might have just provided a major hint at who that coach might actually be.
Mark Bowman hints William Contreras' success led to firing of catching coach
Sal Fasano was the Braves catching coach from 2018 through 2024. After the 2024 season, he was let go. At the time Fasano was let go, it was seen as a shocking move, considering how well the Braves backstops had done in years past, even with the Contreras trade and Sean Murphy's injury plague 2024. The reason for Fasano's firing was never really explained at the time, and most fans assumed that it was just part of the Braves decision to shake things up after a tough year.
However, in Bowman's recent article, he infers that the reason Fasano was fired was because of Contreras's breakout in Milwaukee. "It wasn’t a coincidence that Sal Fasano’s days as Atlanta’s catching coach ended after Contreras thrived with both the bat and glove during his first two seasons in Milwaukee," Bowman writes.
Believe it or not, this isn't the first reference by Bowman correlating Contreras's success as a catcher to being away from Fasano. Last summer, Bowman made a snarky reply to a fan who seemingly believed Fasano's firing was the reason for the team's struggle. Bowman said, "Ask Grok, why Baldwin has gotten better with Perez’s help, but Contreras got better defensively after he left Fasano and the Braves."
Longtime Atlanta sports writer Bill Shanks tweeted earlier this week that the Braves did not value Contreras as a catcher and wrote that Fasano convinced Anthopoulos of that, leading to the coach's firing. If this is true, it would make sense that Contreras would still hold some bitterness over the whole situation, especially considering the fact that he also said multiple times, including on the podcast that he loved Atlanta, and would have signed a team friendly extension.
While this doesn't entirely place the speculation over which coach the two were referring to, it may add some clarity to the matter, and could also redirect some of the blame for a very regrettable trade.
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