The Atlanta Braves have the worst record in Major League Baseball this season at 9-28, and they opted to make a big change on Tuesday, firing manager Fredi Gonzalez.
The Braves announced they have dismissed Gonzalez and bench coach Carlos Tosca, and Brian Snitker will serve as Atlanta's interim manager.
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Mark Bowman of MLB.com initially reported the news of Gonzalez's dismissal, which comes after a tenure of five-plus seasons and only one playoff win.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, citing a source, reported more details on Snitker's role, "[Snitker] is [the Braves] interim manager, but he'll remain in [the] role through the end of the season." The New York Post's Joel Sherman added, "Snitker has been in [the Braves] organization since 1977, [and he] actually replaced Gonzalez as [the third base] coach when [Gonzalez] became [the Marlins] manager.
Minor league pitcher Tyrell Jenkins reacted to the news on Twitter:
The Braves also made other changes to the staff, per O'Brien:
To be fair to Gonzalez, Atlanta is in rebuilding mode and offered him an extension through 2016 last year when he had the Braves hovering near .500 at 42-47 in the middle of the season. Since then, however, the club has struggled mightily.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported May 4 that Atlanta was considering letting Gonzalez go and had former San Diego Padres manager Bud Black in mind as the team's next manager.
Crasnick reported Mark DeRosa has also been named as a potential replacement.
John Hart, the Braves' president of baseball operations, and John Schuerholz, the Braves' senior adviser, both have ties to Black, per Nightengale, who added he's at least a big favorite to begin managing in 2017. Even if Atlanta doesn't go after a full-time replacement right away, Black ought to be the long-term play.
The team is also transitioning into a new stadium, SunTrust Park, in 2017, so there are a lot of moving variables within the organization.
It'd be nice to land a new, credible leader to gain some momentum this year, but it's going to be a while before the Braves have enough talent to contend anyway.
They traded multiple All-Stars in Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, starting pitcher Shelby Miller and reliever Craig Kimbrel toward the end of Gonzalez's stint, along with talented Gold Glove Award-winning shortstop Andrelton Simmons. That left the manager with little to work with, to say the least.
Gonzalez has had a tough draw in his managerial career between his Braves tenure—where he had the task of succeeding the legendary Bobby Cox—and his prior stop with the Miami Marlins, who are notorious for roster turnover.
If given the chance to lead a team with ample talent, Gonzalez may well find success at another job soon enough.
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