When the Atlanta Braves finally made their managerial decision on Monday evening, promoting longtime bench coach Walt Weiss to replace legendary manager Brian Snitker, it was not the decision most fans were expecting.
Instead of an outside hire, which many fans were beginning to believe was going to happen, the Braves decided to stay in house. That likely indicates that the coaching shakeup that typically happens with a change of guard won't be coming to Atlanta.
Walt Weiss's hiring likely means Braves coaching staff is staying put
Despite the Braves having a massively underwhelming season for the second year in a row, Alex Anthopoulos and the front office refrained from making any personnel changes at the end of the season.
The club had let go of hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes, and catching coach Sal Fasano the year before, and demoted third base coach Matt Tuiasosopo during the 2025 eason, but the club was silent on the coaching staff when Brian Snitker retired.
Some assumed that the coaching staff would be finalized once the club hired a new manager, and since there were rumblings about the club hiring outside the organization, it felt like the new manager would bring along a few of his own coaches.
However, with the Braces staying in house, with Walt Weiss moving up from bench coach to manager, it seems far more likely that the coaching staff stays more or less in tact. The only role to fill would be Weiss's old role as bench coach, with Eddie Pérez being a strong candidate for the role, after serving the four seasons oddly vague major league coach role.
Of course, the Braves could always go a different route for bench coach, and there's a chance that Weiss has a few guys he's looking to bring in. However, for now, it looks like going with Walt Weiss is the safe choice. By going with the safe choice, it appears the Braves are going with the least disruptive choice, for better or for worse.