Report: Brian Snitker will retire; 'strong' candidates for Braves next manager emerge

Out of all of the things that have gone wrong in Atlanta, Braves manager Brian Snitker is low on the totem pole in terms of the overall impact of failing facets.

Some fans might not want to acknowledge that, but at the end of the day, the players and Alex Anthopoulos are mostly to blame. There’s no head coach/manager in major professional sports that have less to do with the outcome of winning and losing quite like managers in baseball.

Now, that doesn’t mean Brian Snitker’s hands are clean of all of this. He’s made plenty of head-scratching decisions throughout this disappointing season, and it does feel like it’ll be his last season as skipper in Atlanta.

There have been multiple reports that Snitker is considering retirement after nearly 50 years with the organization. His contract is up; he’s hinted at the possibility of retiring, and this season has been one of the toughest in recent memory after a brutal 2024 campaign. All signs point to Brian Snitker stepping back in 2026.

So, who will replace him? While the 2025 campaign was brutal, this will still be a highly coveted job in the winter. According to Bob Nightengale, not only will Snit retire at the end of the season, but two strong candidates have emerged in Skip Schumaker and Walt Weiss.

“Former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker and bench coach Walt Weiss are expected to be strong candidates to replace Brian Snitker as Atlanta’s manager when he retires after the season.”

If the club decided to elevate Weiss, it would follow the same approach the Braves took when they made Snit the manager in 2016 after working his way up the organization.

Both candidates have experience as managers. Weiss managed in Colorado before coming to Atlanta, but he never won more than 75 games between the 2013-16 seasons with the Rockies.

Schumaker has had more success, though. He spent two seasons with the Marlins and won the National League Manager of the Year award in 2023 after leading Miami to an improbable postseason appearance. Schumaker is expected to be one of the most coveted managerial candidates this winter.

If the Braves do hire outside of the organization, keeping Weiss should be a priority.