It’s the best available job in major league baseball — so said AP News just before the Padres job opened up. Regardless of how that job ranks, the Atlanta Braves have certainly been receiving numerous inquiries from those interested in replacing Brian Snitker in the Truist Park dugout.

Alex Anthopoulos has been known for striking quickly – or at least attempting to – when a key free agent or trade opportunity crops up. One should expect nothing less as he seeks to fill one of the most important roles in the organization.

Among other reasons, competition for the best candidates should be fierce this Fall, as eight MLB teams are actively looking for new leadership.

The Rangers struck first, snatching up Skip Schumaker.   Reports over the weekend suggest that the Giants may be the second club to hire a new field general, with University of Tennessee skipper Tony Vitello said to be their primary target.

That’s some out-of-the-box thinking.

I suspect that the Atlanta Braves may opt for more conventional thinking… and notably, it’s doubted here that either of those gentlemen were a priority for Anthopoulos.

The Protocol and the Process

The World Series begins this week, and MLB generally likes to have non-participating teams keep their activities to a minimum so that they don’t distract from The Main Event.

There are exceptions, though… and there are ‘windows of opportunity’ where teams can get away with major announcements.  Hiring a manager between playoff rounds is one such tactic that is often used, and that may very well be what the Giants are trying to do.

As for the Braves, Anthopoulous runs a very tight ship.  Security leaks are the exception, not the rule.  Certainly, we’ve seen this practice in action during trade deadline season, but that extends to virtually everything this organization does.

Nonetheless, it’s a much more difficult task to keep managerial rumors in check, particularly if there is any attempt to go outside the current organization.

Why?  It’s because of the sheer number of people that have to be involved in the process. 

Hiring a new manager is a process that necessarily includes virtually all team executives, existing coaching staff (depending on whether the candidate would be expected to ‘clean house’ and bring in their own people), key veteran players, most of the baseball operations people, scouts, minor league staff… also anybody else who would be impacted by a new manager, since this position embodies the philosophy of how baseball is organized and brought to the field on a daily basis.

Nonetheless, it should be expected that ‘the Braves Way’ will include maintaining as much radio silence as possible – something that will keep everyone guessing until the hiring announcement is made.

When might that happen?  That’s the first guess:  given the number of openings available, the bet here is that interviews may already have been taking place.  While Atlanta isn’t moving at the pace of the Giants or Rangers, this hire certainly has to be their number one priority, so it would make sense that this gets done just after the World Series ends (likely before… just without the announcement happening until then).

The second guess involves the “who”.

The Candidates

Barring a surprise, I have to believe that we’re looking at a new manager who is either already in the organization… or was.

This isn’t a particularly shocking revelation.  For one thing, the Braves already have three staff members on the payroll with managerial experience.  They are:

• Walt Weiss (Rockies, 2013-2016; age:  62 in November)
• Fredi Gonzalez (Marlins, 2007-2010; Braves, 2011-2016; age:  62 in January)
• Eddie Perez (Venezuelan Winter League, 2008-2010 and 2015; age 57-1/2). He was once a candidate for the managerial role with both the Rockies and the Diamondbacks, while reportedly being interviewed to replace Gonzalez in 2017 when Snitker ultimately lost his “interim” tag.

But then there’s the semi-external candidates:

• David Ross
• Mark DeRosa

A former College World Series player with both Auburn and Florida, Rossie has been a member of the Dodgers, Pirates, Padres, Reds, Red Sox (twice), Braves, and Cubs.  The Dodgers tried to get him twice:  drafting him in 1995’s 19^th round, then again in the 7^th round three years later.

Ross succeeded Joe Maddon as skipper for the Cubs after the 2019 season and took that club through 4 seasons (finishing 1^st, 4tg, 3^rd, and 2^nd) until being excused for the sin of not being Craig Counsell.  David Ross is now 48 years old.

While with Atlanta, Ross was a backup catcher for 4 seasons, appointing himself well under both Bobby Cox and Fredi Gonzalez.  After all, backup catchers don’t usually hit around .270, and the Braves got the best of him offensively during those 2009-2012 seasons.

DeRosa, 50, attended Penn and quarterbacked their football team to an undefeated Ivy League championship in 1994… repeating that title in 1995.  Oh, he also was shortstop on the baseball team and played enough in the Cape Cod league at third base to be noticed by scouts once Troy Glaus moved aside to play for the national team. 

The Braves then drafted DeRosa in 1996’s 7^th round, and played for the major league team at various points from 1998 to 2004.  From there, he had stint with Texas, the Cubs, Cleveland, St. Louis, San Fran, Washington, and Toronto – finishing up in 2013.  For most of his career, he was the very definition of ‘journeyman infielder’.

While often mentioned as a candidate, DeRosa’s managerial experience is limited to the 2023 World Baseball Classic where the USA fell to The Shohei Ohtani’s (i.e., Team Japan) in the finals.

Best Guesses

A major league manager has a job that has an interesting split:  10-15% of it is on the field and 85-90% of it is not.  He has to be a motivator, a psychologist, a media personality, a scout, a mind-reader, a negotiator, and oftentimes a mother.  The attention to detail needed is incredible.

Those with ADHD need not apply.  It’s no wonder that former catchers dominate the field.

So with that… here’s one assessment.

• Gonzalez:  likely no.  His prior track record doesn’t scream ‘motivator’… and his last Braves season is still remembered.
• Weiss:  he’s certainly been right there as Snitker’s bench coach for multiple seasons.  His age is a bit of a factor, but he’s the same age now that Snit was when he was hired.  That said, I feel that the executives will want a new voice.
• DeRosa.  Interesting candidate, but the résumé just isn’t there.
• Pérez.  Being bi-lingual can’t hurt, but if I’m right about the ‘external voice’ thing, that will hurt his chances.  Also, while he’s been under excellent tutelage as a Brave and a Braves staff-member, his own résumé is also thin.
• Anyone else.  With the talent this club has, we’re certainly not looking at a rebuilding time, and that’s why you shouldn’t be looking to completely ‘clean house’.  Finding a manager willing to work with many members of the existing staff at multiple levels in the organization will be important.
• That leaves David Ross.  Ross is the best option combining age, experience, organizational awareness, outside influence, and cachet. Reportedly, Ross is also bi-lingual, thanks to his experience in the Dominican Republic.

If Ross can come in with the aim of working with others already in place – and vice versa – then Atlanta should snatch him up before others do.  If the personalities don’t work out, then Eddie Pérez would be an excellent choice for Plan B

I would be surprised if it’s anyone else… but then I thought Raisel Iglesias was a mortal lock to be dealt away this past Summer.

Look for the choice to be made and announced within a couple days after the World Series is completed. Then we can get started on the business of looking toward 2026 and beyond.