The Atlanta Braves have been in freefall mode for essentially the entire 2025 MLB season, currently sitting 11 games under the .500 mark after blowing a big lead on Saturday evening at home vs the New York Yankees. Things have somehow gotten even worse for the Braves since their 0-7 start to the campaign, and Atlanta is now in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.

Braves manager Brian Snitker, who coached the team to a World Series championship in 2021 but hasn't won a playoff series since, is expected by many to retire at the end of this season, raising the question of who will be his potential replacement in Atlanta.

Recently, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today dropped an interesting name who is expected to be a candidate for the vacancy.

“Former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker and bench coach Walt Weiss are expected to be strong candidates to replace Brian Snitker as Atlanta’s manager when he retires after the season,” reported Nightengale.

Schumaker recently coached the Marlins and won the National League Manager of the Year award in 2023 before parting ways with the franchise the following season.

Nightengale also noted that “Schumaker could also wind up in Texas if Bruce Bochy retires.”

The potential end of an era

Jun 5, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker (43) walks to the pitchers mound to change pitchers against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the ninth inning at Truist Park.
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Brian Snitker has long been described as a Braves “lifer” due to the way he worked his way up in the organization over the span of several decades, eventually becoming the manager of the team and leading them to their first World Series championship since 1995.

However, Snitker has drawn heat from the fanbase over the last few seasons due to his increasingly bizarre lineup choices at times, which many fans have blamed for the Braves' descent from their championship heights of 2021.

The Braves are widely expected to be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline, and it's possible that both the players on the field and the manager coaching them in the dugout could look quite a bit different by the time the 2026 season rolls around.

The Braves will wrap up their series vs the Yankees on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.

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