The inevitable finally came to pass on Wednesday, as ESPN's Jeff Passan broke the news that Brian Snitker would not be returning as manager of the Atlanta Braves in 2026. This season was long thought to be the 69-year-old Snitker's last in the dugout — he was pretty open about contemplating retirement over the winter — and Atlanta's disappointing record only added to the sense that the writing was on the wall.
At this point, plenty of Braves fans are likely ready to move on. Snitker is an Atlanta lifer with a World Series ring on his resume, but he increasingly seemed to lose touch with his own clubhouse this season and consistently pushed the wrong buttons as an in-game manager.
Moving on is the easy part, though; the hard part is figuring out just what should come next. The Braves enter this offseason at something of a crossroads, and it'll be fascinating to see what Alex Anthopoulos and Co. prioritize in a new manager. Here are six names to keep an eye on as the search unfolds.
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6. Mark DeRosa
DeRosa is a familiar face for Braves fans: He was drafted by Atlanta in the seventh round back in 1996, and he went on to play seven of his 16 big-league seasons with the club. He's spent most of the ensuing years as a studio analyst for MLB Network, but he does have some legitimate managerial experience, guiding Team USA to a silver medal finish at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
DeRosa, admittedly, wouldn't be the most inspiring choice. It's been a while since he was involved in the Major League game on a regular basis, and some of his analysis on television is ... questionable, to say the least. But he's a popular personality who clearly knows how to connect with players, and has deep ties to the organization.
5. Walt Weiss
Few organizations value continuity more than Atlanta, and if staying the course is the goal, Weiss would seem like a pretty neat fit. He's spent the last eight years as Snitker's bench coach; he knows the front office and these players, and he was an integral part of the 2021 World Series run. Plus, he has his own managerial experience to fall back on, having led the Colorado Rockies from 2013-2016. (Before you get too rankled about his 283-365 overall record, remember: It's the Rockies.)
Weiss seems to have plenty of fans internally, and there's something to be said for handing the job to someone with relationships already built. Then again, you can't blame people for wanting something different after diminishing returns late in Snitker's tenure at the helm.
4. Ron Washington
It feels like Braves fans have been begging Washington to come back ever since he left to take the Los Angeles Angels job after the 2023 season, and now they finally have their chance. Washington was let go by the Halos on Tuesday after a trying year in which he dealt with some truly scary health issues that threatened to force him into retirement for good.
Washington insists that he's on the mend, telling reporters that he was fired not because of his health but because of his performance. Still, he's 73 now, and it's fair to wonder whether he has the energy required for such a physically and mentally demanding job. (It's also fair to wonder whether he's the best choice for the top job, considering that he hasn't been successful at it in over a decade now.)
Washington's ability to instill fundamentals defensively and boost morale in the clubhouse are beyond dispute. But there's more that goes into being a manager, even if plenty around Atlanta would love to welcome him back to the organization.
3. Bob Melvin
There's very little connection between the Braves and Melvin, a West Coast lifer who won three Manager of the Year awards in over a decade leading the then-Oakland A's. But he's now a free agent after being let go by the San Francisco Giants earlier in the week, and given his resume, you'd have to think that Atlanta will at least explore the possibility.
Melvin, like basically anyone with over two decades of big-league managerial experience, has his share of detractors. But he's won pretty much everywhere he's been, and it's hard to lay too much of San Francisco's mediocrity this season at his feet. Clearly he's doing something right to stick around this long, and he's done a good job of adapting to the modern game.
2. David Ross
ESPN's Buster Olney name-checked Ross as a potential Snitker replacement last month, and you can understand why: He spent four years as a player with the Braves from 2009-2012, he won two World Series rings over the course of 15 seasons in the Majors and he already has managerial experience in a major market.
Of course, there's a reason why Ross is no longer the manager in Chicago, and why the Cubs felt compelled to pay up to poach Craig Counsell from Milwaukee. His ability to manage a clubhouse is beyond question, but his in-game decisions sometimes left a lot to be desired. In many ways, he profiles as a Snitker sort of figure, a likable baseball lifer who will nonetheless leave you scratching your head sometimes. Whether that's what the Braves are looking for here remains to be seen, but he checks plenty of boxes.
1. Skip Schumaker
The Braves are already plenty familiar with Schumaker's work, having watched him up close and personal as he somehow managed to get a ramshackle Marlins team to the playoffs in 2023. Miami made the frankly inexplicable decision to let him go just one year later, and he's spent the 2025 campaign as an advisor in the Texas Rangers front office.
Schumaker has as well-rounded a resume as you can ask for, from a decade of playing experience to time as a base coach, bench coach, manager and front office assistant. He knows how the modern game works from every angle, and he blends an embrace of new information with the ability to connect to players. The only issue here is that he figures to be at or near the top of the list of teams looking for a manager this winter — starting with Texas, which just made the decision to move on from Bruce Bochy.