The search for Brian Snitker's replacement is not one that the Atlanta Braves are taking likely. Rather than just going with an internal candidate to get the process over quickly, it is clear that the Braves are being very methodical and taking care to find a new manager that could be in place for a long time. There have already been some popular names connected to the opening like David Ross, Walt Weiss, and John Gibbons, but one name is starting to gain more traction than the others.
There were already whispers that the Braves were interested in Dodgers coach Danny Lehmann since the early days of the search. Not only is Alex Anthopoulos very familiar with him from his days with the Dodgers, but Lehmann is a highly respected young coach that has demonstrated an aptitude for blending analytics into a form that translates into on-field results. That is a lot of boxes that are checked right off the bat.
With LA about to play in the World Series, it does feel pretty telling that there has been so little news on the Braves' managerial opening and that would align with a leading candidate being preoccupied. According to Braves insider Mark Bowman, Lehmann is being seen as the leading candidate more and more and several other candidates appear to be falling to the wayside.
Dodgers' Danny Lehmann quickly emerging as Braves' top candidate to be their new manager
Before talking about Lehmann, it was almost more notable that some of the bigger names that have been bandied about seem to be out of the running. Bowman indicated that not only is Weiss seen as a long shot given how the process has unfolded, but Gibbons' candidacy has lost steam as well. Those developments would seem to help Ross who has been a popular pick, but Bowman also relayed that there is little indication that he is even being seriously considered right now.
Most of the positive news came in the description of Lehmann's case for the job. Bowman noted that Anthopoulos and Lehmann have stayed in touch since moving to the Braves to run the front office and that one reason why the search has lingered this long is because the Dodgers are in the middle of a deep playoff run.
All of that is a lot of words to say that Braves fans shouldn't expect a resolution to the manager search until the World Series is over. Whether Atlanta is needing to wait to interview Lehmann until after the Dodgers are done or they don't want to announce anything until LA is out, it sounds like we could be waiting a while.