Braves sign Snitker to extension through '23
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Brian Snitker will have the opportunity to continue serving as the Braves manager for at least three more seasons.
Before Friday morning’s workout at CoolToday Park, the Braves announced that Snitker has signed a contract extension that runs through 2023 and includes a club option for '24. The veteran skipper is currently preparing for his sixth season as Atlanta’s manager.
“I am thrilled that Brian will continue to lead our club on the field and in the clubhouse,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “Three consecutive division titles speak to the impact of Brian and his staff, and we are pleased that he will continue to guide our club through 2023.”
As the Braves won a third consecutive National League East crown and finished a win away from reaching the World Series last year, they continued to benefit from the steady guidance of Snitker, who kept the ship afloat despite losing four of his five projected starting pitchers within the season’s first few weeks.
When Snitker replaced Fredi Gonzalez a little more than a month into the 2016 season, the general sentiment was that he would serve as the club’s manager until a long-term replacement was found at the end of the year. But he kept morale high during that rebuilding season and gained the support of veterans like Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis, who both lobbied for him to continue in the role.
As the 2017 season neared an end, it once again looked like Snitker’s managerial tenure might wrap up, too. Former general manager John Coppolella was planning to make a change, and quite frankly, Snitker had decided he no longer wanted to work for Coppolella.
But the day after the 2017 season ended, Coppolella was suspended and ultimately banned from baseball because of infractions on the international market.
So Snitker continued his reign and has since guided the Braves to three straight NL East titles. He was named NL Manager of the Year in 2018 and finished third after the '19 season. The Braves’ .578 winning percentage over the past three seasons ranks second in the NL, trailing only the Dodgers (.626).