Braves scoop up former Orioles manager as coaching staff overhaul continues

The Atlanta Braves hiring Walt Weiss as their new manager was a nice start, but the subsequent purging of the coaching staff made it clear that they wer looking to take things in a different direction after Brian Snitker's retirement. Stealing two highly regarded coaches from the Mets was a good start towards that end, but Atlanta did not stop there.

On Friday, the Braves continued their complete remaking of their coaching staff with the announcement that Atlanta was bringing in Tony Mansolino and JP Martinez to be their third base coach and bullpen coach respectively.

Braves add Tony Mansolino and JP Martinez to their coaching staff

If Mansolino's name is familiar to you, it is because he was the Orioles' interim manager after Baltimore fired Brandon Hyde last season. The Orioles did play better under Mansolino, but the difference wasn't big enough to persuade the front office to keep him around and they instead they went with Craig Albernaz. Atlanta now gives him a chance to be on a coaching staff expected to contend for a playoff spot and potentially get an opportunity elsewhere down the line.

As for Martinez, he most recently served as a pitching coach with the Giants whose pitching staffs were generally quite good even when their lineups were abominations. It probably didn't hurt his case that San Francisco had a data-driven approach under former GM Farhan Zaidi and he is likely familiar with how to blend traditional coaching and advanced metrics well.

For those that are sad that these hires make it look like a Ron Washington reunion is no longer on the table, that may not be the case. The Braves still don't have a bench coach and such a role could suit Wash really well assuming his health allows for a return to the dugout at all.

Stay tuned, Braves fans. Things are getting interesting now and we haven't even gotten into the roster additions portion of the offseason yet.