Before thankfully winning against the Brewers on Monday night, the Atlanta Braves were in free fall. They had just lost seven games in a row including some true gut punches and almost nothing seemed to be going right. With Atlanta struggling so much, there were no shortage of fans that were calling for the team to get rid of manager Brian Snitker as soon as possible.
While a pretty normal sports fan reaction, the idea that the Braves would fire Snitker in the middle of the season is laughable. Aside from the fact that he has been with the organization for nearly five decades, Snitker also led the Braves to division titles from 2018-2023 including a World Series win in 2021. As MLB insider Ken Rosenthal recently said, the team just isn't going to do that to Snitker as much as upset as fans are right now.
Again, nothing earth-shattering there. However, what does seem possible is that if the Braves finish the 2025 season out of the playoffs, both the Braves and Snitker could decide that a mutual parting of ways is the best thing for everyone.
If the Braves don't turn things around, Brian Snitker retiring feels pretty likely
To be clear, we aren't blaming Snitker for the Braves' struggles in 2025. While there have certainly been some times this season where Snitker didn't do his best work as an in-game strategist, the bulk of the blame belongs on the players who are far too talented (and well paid) to be playing like this. If you are looking for a column blasting Snitker and calling for his head, you can look elsewhere for that.
However, Snit has already hinted that retirement has been on his mind and whether or not the 2025 season would be his last season would depend on how he is feeling. Some of that is certainly a physical/health consideration at 69 years old, but there is also just the matter of how long he wants to put up with all of this at his age.
Perhaps Snitker retiring after the season is the best outcome for everyone. Snitker gets to leave the game and team he loves on his own terms and the Braves get to install a new voice at the head of the coaching staff that might be able to get more out of these guys and perhaps is more receptive to modern analytics. Firing Snitker in the middle of the season would both be unnecessarily disrespectful to a franchise icon and probably just make things worse in the short-term. However, that doesn't mean that Atlanta's struggles in 2025 may not be the beginning of the end.
That said, please don't hire Fredi Gonzalez for the job, we beg of you.