The Atlanta Braves were willing to bring Brian Snitker back as their manager for 2026, but the longtime skipper had other plans - stepping down from his post after a successful decade-long run, forcing the Braves to find his replacement. As sad as it was to see Snitker step down, this gave Alex Anthopoulos an opportunity to get fresh blood into an organization that needs a spark following a brutal year in 2024.
The fact that it took a month for the Braves to find their Snitker replacement suggested that the Braves were going to hire an external option, with Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann as a popular name. Instead, the Braves hired their own bench coach, Walt Weiss, as Snitker's heir apparent.
#Braves Name Walt Weiss as Major League Manager: pic.twitter.com/SOXe5xjst9
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 3, 2025
While Weiss is a deserving candidate, it's hard for Braves fans to get overly excited about this hire. In fact, if there's any fan base excited about this move, it's probably the Dodgers.
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Dodgers dodge bullet with Braves managerial hire
It felt as if Lehmann checked all of the boxes for the Braves. He's young (only 40 years old), has been the Dodgers' bench coach for their back-to-back World Series wins, worked with Alex Anthopoulos for a couple of years during Anthopoulos' time with the Dodgers, and he had worked his way up from the bottom of the totem pole all the way to being a bench coach.
Sure, we don't know how Lehmann would do as a manager given his lack of experience in that role, but he's had several years to learn under Dave Roberts, one of the game's most established skippers, and certainly appeared primed to take the next step.
It is truly a head-scratcher as to why the Braves would turn him down, and the fact that Lehmann's odds of staying with Los Angeles for another year just skyrocketed has to feel good for Dodgers fans.
Braves stick with what they know with Walt Weiss hire
At the end of the day, Anthopoulos felt more comfortable sticking with Weiss, Snitker's right-hand man, over hiring an unknown. On one hand, it's hard to blame him for passing on an inexperienced manager, especially when the expectations are to win right now. On the other hand, Lehmann certainly looks like a diamond in the rough, and it's not as if Weiss's 283-365 record in four years managing the Colorado Rockies brings much optimism.
It'd be premature to say Weiss won't get the job done before he even manages a game for Atlanta, but Snitker wasn't getting the job done by the tail end of his tenure. Going from the guy who wasn't good enough to that guy's right-hand man feels like a strange decision, and one that reeks of unwillingness to change.
If Weiss isn't the right guy, one of the most talented rosters in the National League certainly won't have a chance of dethroning the Dodgers. Knowing this, and the fact that Lehmann's odds of staying put for another year improved, the Dodgers came out of this decision looking mighty fine.