To say the Atlanta Braves have had an underwhelming season might actually be an understatement. Entering the year as presumed playoff locks, the Braves now find themselves far from a Wild Card spot with just a month and a half remaining. With the team’s struggles and Brian Snitker in the final year of his contract, this could signal the end of an era in Atlanta.
“Because of that consistent recent success, Snit would normally be afforded a ‘mulligan’ year—even though going from the second-best preseason World Series odds to possibly the third-best odds of winning the draft lottery is a pretty serious mulligan,” Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller wrote. “At 69, though, he’s already the oldest manager in the National League by a several-year margin and was likely to retire at the end of this season, which is the last one in his current contract.”
The Braves have made the playoffs for several consecutive years, but that streak appears likely to end. As a result, one name being floated as a possible replacement for Snitker is David Ross.
“The Braves clearly have an affinity with players that have been apart of the organization in the past, and David Ross fits that billing, spending four seasons with the club from 2009–2012. Ross was most recently the manager for the Chicago Cubs, where he won a World Series as a player,” ATL Sports Talk wrote.
Ross’s first stint as manager of the Cubs didn’t end as anyone hoped. Despite public support, the organization made a surprising move.
“The Chicago Cubs fired manager David Ross and hired Craig Counsell on Monday. The longtime Milwaukee Brewers manager was lured to Chicago with a record-setting five-year, $40 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote.
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If Ross ends up with the Braves, he would inherit a team with considerable star power. This season, however, Atlanta’s biggest issue has been pitching—a vital component of any successful team. That said, Ross is no stranger to the Braves’ culture and would step into a clubhouse he already knows well.
