The 2024 MLB Winter Meetings are in full swing as the Atlanta Braves and teams around the league work to build their rosters for next season. Juan Soto finally made his decision and it made him one of the richest players in baseball. With his contract out of the way, it feels like the floodgates can finally open.
MLB managers were meeting with media outlets throughout the day and giving their thoughts on the states of their respective organizations. Braves manager Brian Snitker spoke about Atlanta's offseason thus far and his future with the team.
Braves insider Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated Atlanta's manager, who turned 69 this year, felt great. Toscano shared a brief summary of Snit's feelings on the offseason so far.
That summary included that losing Travis d'Arnaud to free agency was tough but that the team has a ton of confidence in Sean Murphy despite a tough season. Snit touched on the bullpen's need for an 8th inning option since Joe Jimenez may miss the entire season. His confidence is high in Pierce Johnson potentially filling that role.
Another big thing he touched on was the team's two vacant starting positions not being filled yet. We all know that AA isn't going to just let that go untouched this offseason. It seems Snit has that confidence as well and he "feels good about starting pitching" because there's a lot of time before Opening Day."
Brian Snitker met with us this afternoon. Snitker, 69, said he feels great at that age.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) December 9, 2024
-TdA loss is tough but a lot of confidence in Murph
-Pierce Johnson can slot into the eighth-inning role if needed
-He still feels good about SP bc there's a lot of time before opening day
Atlanta has been tied to free agent starter Nathan Eovaldi as a potential solution for the rotation. Of course, bringing back Max Fried would be a welcome sight but his return isn't promising for the Braves after recent rumblings were revealed about his market.
Braves' Brian Snitker currently not sure if he will manage beyond next season
The biggest and most surprising topic that came up was on if Brian Snitker would return after the 2025 season. This season will be Snit's 10th season as manager since he took over for Fredi Gonzalez in 2016.
He has spent almost 50 years with the organization and he's accomplished a lot, including bringing a World Series title to Atlanta in 2021. However, Atlanta's skipper doesn't know if he will return to his post after the 2025 season.
Snitker did say that his decision would depend on how he feels and that he'd "get with Alex at some point and we’ll talk about it."
“I’m up in the air right now,” Snitker said. “Which, I’ll be honest with you, I have been for – when you get to my age, you do that. I think if I’m still enjoying what I’m doing, I’ll think about it.” Justin also asked Snit if the potential of being with the organization for a 50th year was a big motivation for him.
Snit revealed to Toscano that as grateful as he is to be a big league manager, it's not something he needed to feel validated in his career. Snit stated, “I’ve been in it so long (that) when I got this job, I didn’t need to be a big-league manager to validate my career. It happened, I’m glad it did. This has been a really cool thing to experience for the last 10 years. But I don’t have to get to 50."
He has been one of the best managers in Braves history just behind his mentor and friend, Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox. Snitker has the second most wins as Atlanta Braves manager with a 735-582 record since taking over as the interim manager in 2016.
The players love Snit and despite his sometimes questionable managerial decisions, he runs a great clubhouse. Let's hope 2025 is a special year for Snit just in case it is his final one.