Snitker on Ozuna rumors, Morton deal, more

ATLANTA -- As Braves manager Brian Snitker met with reporters via Zoom on Friday afternoon, he spoke about a variety of topics, including the signing of Charlie Morton, the possible pursuit of Marcell Ozuna and why he and many of his peers now seem to be more open to changes that evolve the game.

Here are a few of his most interesting responses.

On the potential of re-signing Ozuna, who more than lived up to the expectations set when he signed a one-year deal with Atlanta last year

He hasn’t even come up [in discussions with GM Alex Anthopoulos], quite honestly. I don’t know where all of this is or anything like that. All I know is I texted Marcell congratulations for being on the All-MLB team as the DH. Other than that, I haven’t had any discussions with him or Alex about where he’s at. All I know is what I read every morning when I get up with my coffee.

On being reunited with Morton, whose one-year, $15 million deal brings him back to the Braves for the first time since he was traded to the Pirates during the '09 season

He’s one of those guys who can bring instant credibility. I was [on Atlanta’s coaching staff] in ’08, when he was here before we traded him to the Pirates. When I speak to Charlie, he’s the same guy he was then. He’s just a great kid. I got a chance to talk to him at the All-Star Game a couple of years ago. Just look at the body of work and what he’s done, he’s the modern-day John Smoltz in the postseason. ... He’s a No. 1 [starter]. I think it was just great that Alex reached out and got him.

On what the postseason experience did for top prospect Cristian Pache, who will come to Spring Training with a chance to open the season as Atlanta’s center fielder

I think he’s going to be well-versed to go in and compete for a position this coming spring. I really liked what I saw and how he handled the whole thing. To be on that stage and see how he responded was very, very encouraging. I think that shows you a kid that took advantage of every day at [the team’s alternate training site]. Hats off to him for the dedication and discipline he showed. That wasn’t an easy job for those guys.

On what he’s been thinking or talking about in regards to the workloads starting pitchers will be asked to handle after throwing significantly fewer innings during the shortened 2020 season

I look at all these guys and how they just keep building. In 2019, we took them through pretty much on a game-by-game basis because we wanted the guys to get through. We didn’t want to shut them down. We wanted them to make all of their starts.

I thinks it’s a cumulative thing that they keep adding those innings and get stronger with their careers. It’s going to be a little bit of a concern, especially if we get going in April and play 162 games. We’re going to have to manage the stressful innings. I don’t know if we’ll have to shut anybody down, but as we get going with this, we’ll have to be aware of the work in between and sending them back out after a few stressful innings. That’s going to have to be on the radar to get these guys going again.

On why it seems he and many other managers seem to be open to maintaining some of this year’s rule adjustments and making changes in an effort to improve the game

I think the game has changed. So the traditions we talk about as traditionalists, I’m not sure that tradition is there anymore. It’s a different game in how it’s viewed. I think a lot of us have been subjected to change ever since July 3 [the start of Summer Camp]. Everything was completely different when we went back to camp in this COVID era. So we better be able to change and be able to adjust, because it’s what we lived. Because we were forced to change and forced to look at it in a different way, I think it was like, ‘Maybe it’s not too bad and it will help the game.’ We’re concerned in our game about the popularity of it, people liking it and the action. These are things we haven’t talked about in years, and the conversations are completely different than they used to be. I think everybody to a man is all for whatever it’s going to take to help the game.