Brian Snitker is set to shed the “interim” label and become the Braves’ next manager, a person familiar with the situation said Monday.
Barring any unexpected development, Snitker will get the job and an announcement will be made Tuesday morning. The Braves waited at the request of Major League Baseball because three postseason games were played Monday.
After taking over as interim manager on May 17, Snitker guided an impressive turnaround of a team that was 9-28 when manager Fredi Gonzalez got fired. The Braves went 59-65 under Snitker including 50-47 after his first four weeks on the job, and they won 12 of their last 14 games and all of their final five series.
Braves executives John Hart and John Coppolella winnowed a field of candidates from several dozen during the final months of the season, then interviewed six for the job: Snitker, veteran former managers Bud Black and Ron Washington, and Braves coaches Terry Pendleton, Eddie Perez and Bo Porter.
Braves players said there was dramatic improvement in team morale under Snitker, 60, and many were outspoken in their support, lobbying in the final weeks of the season for Snitker to get the full-time job.
Snitker has spent all 40 years of his professional baseball career in the Braves organization as a minor league player, coach and manager, in additions to stints on the major league coaching staffs under former manager Bobby Cox and Gonzalez.
He managed nearly 2,600 games in 19 minor league seasons and had been the Triple-A Gwinnett manager since 2013 when the Braves asked him to step in on an interim basis in May, his first managerial stint in the majors.
