ATLANTA — It’s been widely assumed this would be Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker’s final season in that role, that the Braves lifer, who’ll be 70 in October, would retire to an advisory role in the organization where the former minor-league catcher has spent 49 years as a player, coach, instructor or manager.
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But Snitker on Wednesday left open the possibility of continuing to manage in 2026, or at least expressed his potential desire to do so. He said he hadn’t made a decision and, “I still kind of feel like there’s some unfinished business here.”
Whether the Braves would give him the opportunity to try to finish said business is unclear, should it come to that after the season ends Sept. 28. But Snitker, who’s in the final year of his contract, sounded as if he could force them to make a decision, if he decides he wants to keep the manager’s job for another year.
“It changes, honestly,” Snitker said of formulating a decision. “And again, this is the first time I’ve ever been through this, thinking these thoughts. And also, just kind of — I don’t want to look back in a year and regret things. But I want to make sure I know where I’m going.”
Many Braves observers believe that, as beloved and respected as Snitker is throughout the organization, there’s a general feeling it’s probably time for new blood in the managerial job, which Snitker has held for nearly 10 seasons since taking over for the fired Fredi González in May 2016.
If the Braves, a popular 2025 preseason pick to advance to the World Series, had even come close to living up to expectations this year and were headed to an eighth consecutive postseason appearance, perhaps Snitker would already have made his decision to retire after the postseason, regardless of how deep of an October run they made.
But this season was, by Braves standards, a disaster. And there will be no postseason games, no playoff tickets sold.
Snitker doesn’t want to go out like that. That’s played into his thinking.
“Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “It’s been hard getting through (the season). I mean, it’s almost like if you ask (about his future), it depends on the day. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it, and I’m honestly not 100 percent sure which direction I want to go yet.”
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The Braves (65-81) will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018, which was Alex Anthopoulos’ first season as general manager. Anthopoulos has since added the title of president of baseball operations and signed an extension that runs through 2031.
Monday, Anthopoulos was asked a few questions about Snitker’s future and the managerial job for 2026. He was noncommital and circumspect with his answers, showing obvious deference to Snitker and a sensitive situation.
“I mean, look, Snit’s going to be in this organization forever,” Anthopoulos said. “I’m not the owner, obviously; Terry McGuirk is in that role as chairman. Snit will be part of this organization no matter what, well past when I’m here. He’s Braves for life. So those are things we always address at the end of the year.
“We sit down, we talk about staff, we talk about all those things. Our focus the entire year has been on the year, get through the season. All those things are things that we always address in the offseason.”
Snitker said he appreciated Anthopoulos’ not pressuring him or putting a timetable on a decision.
“Oh, very much so,” Snitker said. “He’s always been straight up with me, and he gets it. I appreciate that a lot.”
Still, it seemed inconceivable when Anthopoulos said he hadn’t begun doing background on potential managerial replacements, that it would be “completely disrespectful” to Snitker to do so.
That answer seemed more an indicator of the GM’s desire to defer to Snitker, at least in terms of how to handle the last weeks of the season and any potential announcement about his future.
Snitker has talked all season to friends around baseball about his desire to spend more time with his grandchildren and to travel with his wife. But Snitker is also a highly competitive person, and the Braves have not won a postseason series since their stirring march to the 2021 World Series title.
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This year, they’ll be home watching the playoffs. They are headed to their first sub-.500 season and worst record since 72-90 in 2017. If they remain in fourth place behind the Miami Marlins, it would be the Braves’ lowest National League East finish since 2016, when they were last in the five-team division.
Injuries contributed to their first-round losses in each of the past three postseasons. And injuries — along with severe underperformance by some key players — are why they’ll miss the postseason this year. All five members of Atlanta’s Opening Day rotation were on the 60-day disabled list simultaneously, four with season-ending injuries.
The only exception was ace Chris Sale, who returned recently from a 10-week injured list stint for fractured ribs. Wednesday night, in his third start since coming off the IL, Sale was charged with seven hits and three runs in five innings of a 3-2 loss against the Chicago Cubs, ending Sale’s franchise-record streak of eight starts with one or no runs allowed.
Asked about Snitker’s pregame quotes and whether he still sees the fire in his manager, Sale said, “Yeah, he wants to win. He cares a lot about this place. He cares about the history of this place, and I don’t ever see that changing. Whether he’s here for another 10 years or another 10 days or whatever it is. He cares about the Atlanta Braves, he cares about the organization, the fan base and the players that have been here, that are here and that are going to be here.”
A few hours before the game, the question to Snitker was, what are you thinking about your future, with less than three weeks left in the season?
“You know what, I’m thinking that I want to keep fighting and win as many games as we can,” Snitker said. “And honestly, I’ll probably, when the season’s over — I’ve got in the back of my head things that I’m toying with and all. There’s still fire there. There’s still a fact that I look at what (the Braves could do at full capacity). Kind of like the same thing I said last year: I can’t wait to get spring training with a healthy team.
“I’m kind of … juggling a lot of things. You know, I have a lot of thinking about a lot of different things. I honestly don’t know where I’m going to end up and what decision I’m gonna make.”
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Snitker also recalled a discussion he had with his mentor, Bobby Cox, the legendary Braves manager who retired after the 2010 season at 69. Snitker was his third-base coach at the time.
“Bobby told me his last year, he says, ‘If I knew I was going to feel this good, I wouldn’t have retired,’” Snitker said, and laughed.
(Photo: Brett Davis / Imagn Images)
