Braves looming offseason shocker would cause more damage than Max Fried departure

The story of the 2024 offseason from an Atlanta Braves perspective is set to be centered around Max Fried. Most of Atlanta's core is under team control for a long while thanks to Alex Anthopoulos' wizardry, but Fried is one of the few exceptions.

The southpaw is set to hit free agency at the end of the year and based on how Anthopoulos has conducted his business as Atlanta's president of baseball operations, he feels like a goner. The Braves refuse to overpay for free agents, and instead look to replace departures through trades and extensions.

Remember when Braves fans freaked out when Freddie Freeman left? Anthopoulos replaced him with Matt Olson, and extended him. Remember when Dansby Swanson left for the Cubs? Orlando Arcia was waiting in the wings. If Fried leaves, would anyone be shocked to see Anthopoulos acquire and extend a different ace? Fried is a star, but with Anthopoulos running the show, he's somewhat replaceable.

Replacing an All-Star is really tough, but Jon Heyman of the NY Post revealed a bombshell on a live stream for Bleacher Report that would be even tougher for Anthopoulos to hear. There's reportedly a 'decent chance' that Brian Snitker retires after next season. Replacing Snitker might be a tougher job for Anthopoulos to pull off.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Brian Snitker's looming departure could cause more damage to Braves than Max Fried's

"I do believe there's a decent chance that he will manage out his contract next year and retire after next year. That's just me talking. I think there's a chance of it."

Brian Snitker has been the man in charge in the dugout for the Braves since the middle of the 2016 campaign with Fredi Gonzalez was fired. Anthopoulos deserves a ton of credit for Atlanta's success over the past decade, but Snitker has played a huge role himself.

This is Snitker's eighth full season managing the Braves. They've finished under .500 and missed the playoffs once, and that was in his first full season. Atlanta won the NL East every season from 2018-2023, and despite being 6.5 games back of the first-place Phillies this season, the division race is not over, and they're currently in a Wild Card spot.

Atlanta also happened to win the World Series in 2021 without Ronald Acuña Jr. Could they do that again this season? It wouldn't be wise to completely rule them out.

Snitker is far from perfect as a manager and can be too lax at times, but to say he hasn't been crucial in their recent dominance would be foolish. Losing him would undoubtedly be a big deal chemistry-wise. We know Snitker is the right man in charge for this Braves group, we don't know about anybody else.

Losing Fried would be a major blow, but his production isn't something that Anthopoulos can't find on the market. Losing Snitker, though, could prove to be an even bigger blow considering how much success he's had as Atlanta's manager.