The Atlanta Braves and their fans entered the 2025 season with high expectations. Sure, the team got summarily swept out of the NL Wild Card Round by the San Diego Padres last season and added very little in the way of impact talent over the winter, but that was beside the point; this was still one of the deepest rosters in the league, and as long as they could avoid getting ravaged by injury for the second straight year, everything would get back to normal.
That was the idea, anyway. But four games into the new year, these new Braves feel a lot like the old Braves. Atlanta was once again swept by San Diego, this time in a four-game set at Petco Park. And it's not hard to identify the culprit: The offense, despite replacing much-maligned hitting coach Kevin Seitzer with Tim Hyers this offseason, still can't get out of second gear, scoring just seven runs across four games including back-to-back shutouts.
It's too early to panic, of course, but it's hardly the start the team had envisioned. And based on how last year ended, it's one that has to have everyone wondering just what's gone wrong — particularly manager Brian Snitker, who had to have expected something better for what could be his final year with the team.
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Brian Snitker undecided on his future with the Braves amid rocky start to 2025
Snitker is 69, and as he enters the final year of his contract, he's been open about the fact that he's not sure what his future holds. That remains the case now, as he told USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“I still feel really good," Snitker said. “ ... Right now, I’m leaning towards getting through today. We’ll play it by ear and see what happens."
Snitker doesn't want to become a distraction, or to command a farewell tour around the league. But it's not hard to read between the lines here and see a man who's done just about everything he can in baseball and is about ready to call it quits after nearly 50 years in the Braves organization.
“I still pinch myself," Snitker said. "I drive to the ballpark in the summer, and I can’t believe this is my 10th year because this wasn’t even in the stars. Now to be afforded this opportunity, and to have stayed so long, and accomplish what we have as an organization, I still can’t believe it. The best thing is the relationships and the friendships, that you have for the rest of your life.’’
That sure doesn't sound like someone who has seriously contemplated retirement, and Atlanta's start to 2025 can't be helping matters. Snitker is likely hanging around to try to make one more run at a World Series; if this lineup doesn't get its act together, though, he can kiss that dream goodbye.