Alex Anthopoulos discusses Braves’ manager opening
Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos had his season wrap-up news conference Saturday morning, addressing several topics with the team but mostly discussing the managerial opening.
Brian Snitker retired as manager and transitioned into an advisory role, meaning the Braves are hiring just their fourth manager since 1990. This will be Anthopoulos’ first time hiring a manager in Atlanta, though he twice made hires as the lead executive in Toronto.
Here are some highlights from Anthopoulos on the team’s managerial search:
- Anthopoulos said if Snitker, 69, had wanted to continue manager, he’d have returned.
“He would’ve been back,” Anthopoulos said. “That’s why we were going to wait and give him the time that he needed.”
There has been speculation that Snitker was basically “forced” into retirement because the team wasn’t eager to extend his contract, which expired, but Anthopoulos said that wasn’t the case.
Snitker now begins a five-year adviser deal that was agreed upon three years ago but never officially announced publicly.
- Looking forward, Anthopoulos said the team hasn’t started contacting managerial candidates and does not yet have a list of potential interviewees. He dismissed any speculation that suggests otherwise.
“We do not currently have a list, we have not reached out to anyone,” he said. Anthopoulos said he wanted to address some internal conversations — including a coaching staff that now faces an uncertain future — before delving into the managerial search.
Anthopoulos said, upon concluding his media availability, that he would begin the search process in earnest this weekend.
“I will now turn my attention to manager, creating the list, to having candidates; anybody speculating — which I get, some of these names might become candidates — we have not spoken to anybody, reached out to anybody or had any list,” he said. “That is a fact.”
- The Braves will not publicly share any interviews conducted during the process.
“If we do our job the way I want us to do it, you guys (reporters) won’t have anything,” Anthopoulos said.
He acknowledged the number of MLB manager openings — seven — is relevant and affects the process in general.
The Rangers hired Skip Schumaker as their manager Friday, which was expected, but there are still six other openings beyond the Braves: Angels, Giants, Nationals, Orioles, Rockies and Twins.
- It’s natural to wonder if Anthopoulos will opt for someone with ties to the organization, which was the case for the past two hires. Snitker and Fredi Gonzalez had worked for Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox.
Asked the question, Anthopoulos didn’t provide much insight into how familiarity could affect the search. It’d behoove him in no way to do that, of course.
“Bobby and Snit, obviously the success is great,” Anthopoulos said. “They’re their own individuals and people. I’m trying not to give a generic answer, but you’re looking for the best candidate clearly. … How it’s going to end up, how it’s going to look, candidates are different, who’s available this time of year, certain years and so on. We’ll go through all that.”
There are several candidates who’ve been commonly cited — including Walt Weiss, David Ross and Mark DeRosa — who are tied to the Braves. John Gibbons, who just left his post as Mets bench coach, was one of Anthopoulos’ managerial hires in Toronto and had worked for the Braves as a scout recently, so he’s another oft-mentioned suitor.
- Anthopoulos wants to make a hire as soon as possible, but with so many openings and the need for diligence, he didn’t want to set a time frame as to when someone might be in place.
The Braves can interview candidates who are currently with playoff teams should they request permission, Anthopoulos confirmed.
- Anthopoulos didn’t indicate a preference as far as experience. He acknowledged how so many managers have achieved success with different backgrounds, so it’d be foolish to limit the pool to a specific type. He stressed it’s about the person more than the background or resume.
About the Author
Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.
