After most of the media projected that Brian Snitker would retire at season’s end, the man himself said he has not yet decided on his future. He still has the fire to continue managing and doesn’t want to go out like this, with his team hobbling to the finish line. The Braves will miss the postseason for the first time in eight years under Snitker’s watch, so while many fans might want a new voice to take over, it’s highly unlikely he’s forced out if he expresses his desire to continue managing in 2026.

However, if Snitker does decide to hang it up at season’s end, Buster Olney recently named four candidates that will be considered for the job. Interestingly enough, three of them are ones I mentioned a couple of months ago — Mark DeRosa, Skip Schumaker, and David Ross. 

Skip Schumaker

Schumaker is expected to be among the most coveted managerial candidates of the upcoming hiring cycle, and it’s not hard to see why. The 2023 NL Manager of the Year led the Miami Marlins on a surprise playoff run in his first year with the club, but after dealing with a family emergency in 2024, he announced he would not return for the 2025 season. Assuming he’s ready to get back in the trenches, he’s certainly someone the Braves should be considering.

David Ross

The Braves clearly have an affinity with players that have been apart of the organization in the past, and David Ross fits that billing, spending four seasons with the club from 2009-2012. Ross was most recently the manager for the Chicago Cubs, where he won a World Series as a player, compiling a 262-284 record over four seasons from 2020-2023 and making one postseason appearance.

Mark DeRosa

Mark DeRosa grew up in the Braves farm system and spent his first seven seasons with the club. He’s yet to try his hand at managing in Major League Baseball since retiring as a player in 2013, but he has been the manager for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Given he’s currently got a pretty good gig over at MLB Network, it won’t be easy to convince him to get off the couch. However, perhaps he might be more willing to do so for a familiar organization like the Braves.

The fourth Olney mentioned was Braves bench coach Walt Weiss, who has previous managerial experience with the Colorado Rockies and has been in Atlanta since 2018.

The Braves have a way of going about things. They often like to hire from within, as they did with Snitker, or at least bring in somebody that knows the ins and outs of the organization, which is why Mark DeRosa and David Ross make a lot of sense. Both played several years for the Braves, with DeRosa growing up within the organization.

Skip Schumaker is the only candidate Olney mentions that doesn’t have any ties to the Braves. He played for the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Reds, with his only managerial experience coming with the Marlins, where he won NL Manager of the Year in 2023. Schumaker left Miami for personal reasons, and if he does decide to get back into the game, he’ll be extremely sought after this offseason.