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Brian Snitker Non-Committal About Managing Beyond 2025 Season

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Brian Snitker is entering his tenth season as the Braves’ manager, and his 49th season overall as a member of Atlanta’s organization.  The skipper also turns 70 years old in October, and his most recent contract extension with the Braves (signed back in January 2023) was just a one-year pact that covered the 2025 campaign.

With all this in mind, Snitker seems to be at least considering ending his managerial career once this season is over.  He recently told the New York Post’s Jon Heyman that “I’ll let the year get underway and see what happens,” and told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that last year, Snitker did view 2025 as his last season, though he now isn’t ready to make a final call.

“I still feel really good, and the 50-number [50 years with the Braves] is something I think it’d be kind of cool.  But right now, I’m leaning towards getting through today,” Snitker told Nightengale.

It speaks to Snitker’s baseball-lifer status that stepping away from the manager’s chair wouldn’t mean he is retiring entirely, as “hopefully, I’ll just stay around here and be one of those advisor guys.  I’ll go to the minor-league parks, come to Spring Training a little bit and spend a lot of time watching my grandkids.”  So technically, such an advisory role could stretch Snitker’s Atlanta tenure into yet another decade, even if he would be free from the day-to-day grind of managing.

Bobby Cox and Frank Selee are the only managers in franchise history with more wins than Snitker, who is 735-585 over his nine-plus seasons.  That resume includes seven consecutive winning seasons, and a streak of six straight NL East titles that ended only with last season’s second-place finish.  Snitker’s run of success was highlighted by the Braves’ triumph in the 2021 World Series, as Atlanta overcame losing Ronald Acuna Jr. to a torn ACL that season and launched something of a Cinderella run to the championship.

Snitker’s minor league playing career consisted of four seasons in the Atlanta farm system, and he then immediately pivoted into a roving instructor position in 1980.  This was the stepping stone to becoming a minor league manager in 1982, with Snitker acting as the skipper for multiple teams at multiple rungs of the organizational ladder over the next three-plus decades.  These minor league managerial assignments came in between three different stints on the Braves’ big league coaching staff — Snitker was the bullpen coach in 1985 and then again from 1988-90, and he acted as the third base coach from 2007-13.

Snitker was the manager at Triple-A Gwinnett when he was named the Braves’ interim manager in May 2016, after Fredi Gonzalez was fired.  Though Snitker was only 59-65 over the remainder of that season, it was enough to earn him the full-time job, and Snitker then went 72-90 during the 2017 campaign.  As Nightengale notes, Snitker’s job security was on shaky ground before an even bigger shake-up happened within the organization, as GM John Coppolella resigned due to a league investigation into allegations that the Braves violated international signing rules.  Alex Anthopoulos was quickly brought on as the new general manager, and kept Snitker as manager in part to maintain some stability within an unusual situation for the team.

“I didn’t know anything about Brian Snitker but his name when I got here,’’ Anthopoulos told Nightengale.  “I didn’t know who he was.  I literally had no attachment, no history whatsoever. Now, I have the highest level of trust from a personal standpoint, a professional standpoint, which is critically important. I have so much trust in him in everything we do.”

It would appear that Anthopoulos would be more than happy to keep Snitker in the job beyond 2025, and if Snitker does decide to return, another one-year extension could be worked out in pretty quick fashion.  All of Snitker’s contracts as manager have been short-term deals of no longer than two guaranteed years, perhaps as a nod to Snitker’s age even though his teams kept delivering on the field.

Snitker’s future will be a major running subplot of what is expected to be another year of high expectations in Atlanta.  As much as flags fly forever, the Braves haven’t won a playoff series in the three years since that 2021 ring, and now face heavy competition just in the NL East, let alone the National League as a whole.  Still, the Braves overcame a lot of major injuries to still at least reach the postseason last year, and a healthier roster could help Snitker potentially go out on a high note if he does decide to end his managerial career.

NL Injury Notes: Realmuto, Turner, Suarez, Abbott, Murphy, Freeman

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X-rays were negative on J.T. Realmuto’s left foot after he fouled a ball off himself in Saturday’s 11-6 win over the Nationals.  The Phillies took Realmuto out of the game, and the catcher also didn’t play today “more a precaution than anything,” manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer).  Realmuto will likely be back in action tomorrow when the Phillies have their home opener, though Trea Turner could miss a third straight game as he recovers from back spasms.  Thomson said Turner was available off the bench today and might play Monday, though the Phils’ off-day on Tuesday would allow Turner to get a full four days of recovery time if he is held out of Monday’s lineup.

In other Phillies injury news, Ranger Suarez threw a 26-pitch bullpen session on Saturday, and an up-and-down bullpen is now slated for Tuesday.  If all goes well, Lauber writes that Suarez will make at least one minor league rehab start before being activated from the 15-day injured list.  Suarez was bothered by a bad back during Spring Training, and the Phils decided to put him on the IL to give him more time to heal up and them finish his spring preparations in advance of his 2025 debut.

More injury updates from around the National League…

  • Speaking of pitchers on the 15-day IL, the Reds told reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that southpaw Andrew Abbott will throw his first rehab start with Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.  Abbott is slated for another outing on April 6, and a decision will then be made about whether or not he might be activated onto the Reds’ roster.  A shoulder strain ended Abbott’s 2024 season in late August, and recovering from that strain set Abbott back in his usual offseason work, so the Reds opted to slowly ramp the left-hander up in Spring Training.  If all goes well, Abbott should line up to make his 2025 debut on April 11 or 12, depending on how Cincinnati sets up its pitching staff.
  • Braves catcher Sean Murphy will also probably be starting a minor league rehab assignment this week, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes that Murphy will likely take the field for the Braves’ A-level affiliate on Friday.  Murphy cracked a rib after he was hit by a pitch during a Spring Training game in early March, and we’ve already hit the lower end of the initial 4-6 week recovery timeline.  Still, Murphy appears to be making good enough progress that a return to Atlanta’s lineup should be feasible by mid-April.
  • Tyler Freeman left today’s game with a bruised left wrist after he was hit by a Taj Bradley pitch, but x-rays were negative, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes.  Freeman might be well enough to return to the Rockies’ lineup tomorrow, though since Colorado doesn’t play on Tuesday, this is another situation where a player with a minor injury might simply get an extra day to fully heal.

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Twins To Designate Randy Dobnak For Assignment

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The Twins will designate right-hander Randy Dobnak for assignment prior to tomorrow’s game, as first reported by Ted Schwerzler of Minnesota Sports Fan.  The corresponding move isn’t yet known.  The DFA comes on the heels of an impressive long relief outing for Dobnak, as he allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings of work in Minnesota’s 9-2 loss to the Cardinals today.

Removing Dobnak from the roster allows the Twins to get a fresh arm into the bullpen, and it speaks to Dobnak’s unusual contractual situation.  The righty is in the last guaranteed season of his five-year, $9.25MM contract, though since signing that extension in March 2021, Dobnak has appeared in only 20 MLB games, and he didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2022-23 due to injuries and time spent in the minor leagues.

Since Dobnak has been outrighted off the Twins’ 40-man roster in the past, he has the right to reject another outright assignment and become a free agent if he clears waivers.  However, he doesn’t have enough big league service time to reject an outright assignment and still keep the remaining $4MM ($3MM in 2025 salary and the $1MM buyout on a $6MM club option for 2026) owed on his contract.  As such, Dobnak is sure to again accept an assignment to Triple-A in order to retain his salary, and that same price tag makes it unlikely that another team would claim him on waivers.

This all gives Minnesota a bit of flexibility when it comes to moving Dobnak relatively freely through the waiver wire, as it seems likely that he could face the “contract selection/DFA/waivers/outright” cycle more times whenever the Twins need a spot start, a piggyback starter, or a bulk pitcher behind an opener.  Having Dobnak available came in handy for the Twins today, as Bailey Ober came into his start recovering from a virus, and was rocked for eight runs over 2 2/3 frames before Dobnak came in to handle the rest of the game.

Even with the sting of the 9-2 loss, Dobnak can take solace in his best performance in the majors in quite some time.  He posted a 7.31 ERA over 19 appearances and 60 1/3 innings with the Twins from 2021-24, and he struggled in Triple-A in 2022-23 before having a bit of an uptick in St. Paul last year.  Dobnak posted a 4.25 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate, and 57% grounder rate over 133 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2024, starting 24 of 28 games.

Shohei Ohtani Throws Bullpen Session, No Timeline Yet For Return To Pitching

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Shohei Ohtani threw all fastballs during a 20-pitch bullpen session prior to yesterday’s game, marking the first time that the three-time MVP had thrown off a mound since February 25.  While Ohtani has continued to throw off flat ground in the interim, the month-plus break between proper pitching sessions added to the question of when exactly Ohtani might resume pitching duties in the big leagues, as a few weeks ago Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemingly backed off the initial plan to have Ohtani pitching at some point in May.

Speaking with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters yesterday, Roberts was still non-committal, saying “it’s going to be awhile” before Ohtani makes his pitching debut in a Dodgers uniform.

“I think you start with the natural progression of a bullpen,” Roberts said.  “You’ve got to kind of mix in different pitches to then face hitters again.  It’s a start.  I don’t have a timeline.  I don’t think anyone does.  We’re a ways away.”

It has now been more than 19 months since Ohtani last pitched in a Major League game, as he sustained a right UCL tear during a 1 1/3-inning start for the Angels on August 23, 2023.  The subsequent surgery that September meant that he wouldn’t be pitching during the 2024 campaign, though the normal timeline for UCL surgeries indicated that Ohtani would be ready to go for Opening Day 2025.  However, an unexpected roadblock emerged when Ohtani suffered a labrum tear in his non-throwing shoulder while trying to steal a base during the World Series, which led to an arthroscopic procedure on his left shoulder this past November.  This injury wasn’t seen as too great an impediment to Ohtani’s return to pitching, and obviously not to his role as the Dodgers’ DH, as Ohtani has been able to hit normally this season.

If Ohtani was only a pitcher, in all likelihood he would be pitching in the majors right now, as he would’ve been able to proceed on a regular rehab timeline.  But of course, nothing is normal when it comes to Ohtani and his unique status as a two-way superstar, as he and the Dodgers have balanced both his arm health along with his duties as a hitter.  For instance, he limited some throwing sessions last fall since Ohtani was naturally more focused on trying to help Los Angeles win a championship, and then the added wrinkle of his left labrum issue impacted his usual offseason prep.

Roberts said the month-long break from mound sessions was done in part to get Ohtani fully ramped up as a hitter for his team’s earlier start to the 2025 season, as the Dodgers and Cubs played two games in Japan on March 18-19 before the rest of the league kicked off action three days ago.  The manager also stressed again that “we still want him to pitch.  He wants to pitch.  I think he can handle it,” but also noted that the club has no reason or desire to rush Ohtani back to pitching.

“I think the question is how much do we need him right now and I think we’ve answered that,” Roberts said.  “His health is paramount, most important.  So whenever that time is and his buildup reaches its full maturation, he’ll pitch for us.”

L.A. has so many pitching options that the team is expected to move to a six-man rotation once some hurlers start returning from the injured list.  Beyond the starting five of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Dustin May, the Dodgers will have even more than just a single sixth-starter option given how Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Emmet Sheehan, and Ohtani are all expected to be back at various points in the 2025 season.  It is wholly unlikely that Los Angeles will have all nine rotation candidates healthy at once, but in the event of a slight pitching surplus, it’s a sign of the team’s depth that having Ohtani pitch is almost a luxury, on top of what he can contribute at the plate.

Logan Gilbert Expressing Interest In Future Extension With Mariners

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As the regular season gets underway, fans in Seattle enter the year on the heels of an offseason that didn’t see the Mariners make many significant changes to the roster, with veteran infielder Donovan Solano standing as the club’s most notable addition. Even after that quiet winter and missing the postseason in both 2024 and ’23, however, the team still remains in good position to compete in 2025 thanks primarily to an elite starting rotation that features four young, homegrown arms with front-of-the-rotation abilities: Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo. Seattle resisted overtures from clubs all around the league regarding their top starters this winter, and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times indicates that the club could have an eye on keeping those young arms in town long-term.

“Frankly, I’d love to see all the four young pitchers stay here,” Mariners chairman John Stanton told Jude. “It takes an interest on the players part and an interest on the organization’s part. But I think we, as an organization, are real believers in having a core group. There’s some symmetry … in keeping a group together that is as talented as our guys are, and I feel great about that.”

Stanton’s comments track with the club’s organizational philosophy of prioritizing extending their in-house talent rather than signing players in free agency. Julio Rodriguez, Luis Castillo, and J.P. Crawford are among the current Mariners who have signed lucrative extensions with the club after either being developed by the club or acquired via trade. Just before Opening Day, the Mariners added another player to that list when they locked up star catcher Cal Raleigh on a six-year extension that will keep him in Seattle through at least the end of the 2030 season. The $105MM pact, which comes with $99.4MM in new money, locks up Raleigh after a three-season stretch where he emerged as one of the best offensive catchers in the sport and on the heels of a Gold Glove winning 2024 season.

Raleigh’s strides behind the plate have been such that he’s been nearly universally lauded among the Mariners’ pitching staff, with Gilbert in particular offering effusive praise for his longtime battery mate. Jude relays that the right-hander noted that the club’s decision to extend Raleigh “definitely” gives him further reason to stay in Seattle long-term, though it’s clear that Gilbert has interest in an extension even outside of continue to work with Raleigh.

“[The Mariners] know where I stand,” Gilbert said, as relayed.by Jude. “Seattle has become like home for me, and I’d love to be able to finish my career here.”

It’s less clear where Kirby, Woo, and Miller stand on the possibility of signing with the club long-term, but Gilbert’s desire to stick around is surely encouraging news for Mariners fans. The club’s ace has been among the most reliable pitchers in baseball since his breakout 2022 campaign, with a 3.36 ERA (112 ERA+) and a 3.50 FIP since then. He’s combined those solid results with durability that’s become rare in today’s game. In each of the past three seasons, Gilbert has posted between 32 and 33 starts, and his 208 2/3 innings of work in his first career All-Star campaign last year led the major leagues and helped him to a sixth-place finish in AL Cy Young award voting.

With two seasons of team control remaining after this one and his 28th birthday approaching in May, it seems as though Gilbert is entering a phase of his career where an extension could make plenty of sense for both sides, guaranteeing the righty significant money through his early-to-mid 30s while extending the Mariners’ window of control through the rest of Gilbert’s prime.

All this being said, it doesn’t appear likely that a deal is around the corner. Gilbert acknowledged to Jude that it’s been “a while” since the Mariners approached his camp about the possibility of an extension, and added that he would be hesitant about opening up extension talks during the season. Those comments would suggest that, if an extension between the sides were going to come together, it would most likely wait until the coming offseason, when Gilbert will be preparing for his penultimate trip through arbitration.

Rangers Place Josh Jung On Injured List

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The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve placed third baseman Josh Jung on the 10-day injured list due to neck spasms. The move is retroactive to March 29, meaning that Jung will first be eligible for activation on April 7. Infielder Jonathan Ornelas was recalled from the minors in a corresponding move.

It’s surely a frustrating turn of a events for Jung, as the 27-year-old was looking to get off to a strong start this year after having his 2024 season derailed by a fractured wrist on April 1 of last year. This year, he won’t even make it to April without being placed on the shelf. As worrisome a sign as that may be, all indications from team officials have suggested Jung’s current ailment is not a particularly serious one. As noted by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, manager Bruce Bochy indicated to reporters that he expects that Jung will require only a minimum stay on the injured list.

Jung’s latest trip to the injured list doesn’t seem to be especially indicative of the severity of his neck problem, as the club was viewing him as day-to-day as recently as yesterday (as noted by MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry). The decision to place Jung on the shelf, it seems stems not from Jung’s own injury but rather an issue utility man Josh Smith is suffering from. Smith was playing third base during yesterday’s game but, as noted by McFarland, left the game with a left quad contusion after colliding with the wall in foul territory. Smith is currently considered day-to-day, but is out of the lineup today due to the issue.

With both Jung and Smith down for the time being, the Rangers felt they needed additional conver on the infield, prompting them to place Jung on the shelf so they could bring Ornelas up to the majors. The 24-year-old has just 26 games under his belt in the majors over the past two years and offers little offensive upside, but is a strong defender all around the infield with the speed to steal 15 bases in a season. Ornelas can fill a utility role for the club while Ezequiel Duran and (when healthy enough to return to the lineup) Smith cover for Jung at first base.

Losing Jung, the club’s selection with the eighth-overall pick in the 2019 draft, stings for the lineup. The 27-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023 where he was named an All-Star and finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Since the start of that season, Jung has slashed a strong .267/.311/.454 across 170 games in the majors and was off to a hot start this year with three hits in his first seven at-bats. Fortunately, Smith should be a perfectly adequate replacement once he’s back in the lineup, as he had a breakout season of his own last year, hitting .258/.337/.394 in 592 trips to the plate while serving in a super-utility role. Smith’s versatility and solid bat even earned him the AL Silver Slugger award for utility players last year, and he figures to once again fill a similar role in 2025.

Athletics Claim Angel Perdomo, Designate Esteury Ruiz For Assignment

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The Athletics announced this afternoon that they’ve claimed left-hander Angel Perdomo off waivers from the Angels. In a corresponding move, center fielder Esteury Ruiz was designated for assignment. The Angels separately announced that left-hander Jose Quijada as cleared waivers and been assigned outright to the minor leagues.

Perdomo, 31 in May, signed with the Blue Jays out of the Dominican Republic and made his pro debut back in 2012. He didn’t end up cracking the big leagues until the shortened 2020 season, however, at which point he was a member of the Brewers. Perdomo struggled badly across parts of two seasons in Milwaukee, with an 8.24 ERA and a 6.43 FIP in 19 2/3 innings of work across 22 appearances. While his 33.7% strikeout rate was nothing short of excellent, Perdomo was held back by a massive 23.5% walk rate.

The southpaw went on to spend the 2022 season in the Rays farm system, where he pitched quite well at the Triple-A level, before signing a minor league deal with the Pirates for the 2023 season. He pitched solid for Pittsburgh that year, with a 3.72 ERA and 3.01 FIP in 29 innings of work as he struck out a sensational 37.6% of his opponents. Unfortunately, elbow issues cut Perdomo’s season short and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery during the offseason. That led the Pirates to designate the lefty for assignment, at which point he was claimed by Atlanta and signed to a split deal for the 2024 season.

Perdomo ultimately did not pitch in 2024, however, and though he stuck with the club over the offseason he was ultimately traded to the Angels earlier this month. He was DFA’d by Anaheim prior to Opening Day, and now finds himself headed north to West Sacramento where he’ll get the opportunity to join the A’s bullpen if he can prove he’s healthy and effective. The southpaw’s Spring Training was something of a mixed bag, as he impressed with a 1.80 ERA but walked (6) nearly as many batters as he struck out (8). If he pitches as well as he did for Pittsburgh, however, Perdomo could wind up being a solid complement to Mason Miller from the left hand side in the late innings.

Making room for Perdomo on the 40-man roster is Ruiz. The center fielder is most famous for being the centerpiece of the return the Athletics received in a controversial three-team trade that sent franchise catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta and promising young backstop William Contreras to Milwaukee. While Contreras has gone on to put himself on the shortlist for the title of best catcher in baseball with the Brewers, the return the A’s received for Murphy has largely failed to produce in the majors. That includes Ruiz, who appeared in 132 games in 2023 as the club’s regular center fielder and swiped a league-leading 67 bases in 80 attempts. Impressive as his wheels were on the basepaths, however, he was a pedestrian defender in center field and failed to hit enough to justify his everyday job, slashing just .254/.309/.345 in 497 trips to the plate.

The 2024 season saw Ruiz open the season with the club but get optioned to the minor leagues in fairly short order. Overall, he hit just .200/.270/.382 with five steals in nine attempts across 29 games with the A’s during their final season in Oakland before missing the majority of the season with a wrist sprain and ultimately undergoing knee surgery in September. Ruiz came into camp with a chance at a job with the A’s this year, but hit just .121/.171/.152 in Spring Training, leaving the club to option him to the minor leagues. Evidently, the A’s feel he no longer has much of a future with the organization following the emergence of pieces like Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday. Going forward, they’ll have one week to work out a trade involving Ruiz or else he’ll need to be placed on waivers. Should he pass through waivers unclaimed, the club will have the opportunity to outright him to Triple-A to serve as non-roster depth going forward.

Jose Ramirez Day-To-Day After Exiting Game With Wrist Sprain

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March 30: Ramirez remains day-to-day and is out of the lineup today, as Vogt told reporters (including Tim Stebbins of MLB.com) this afternoon. Vogt added that Ramirez is available to pinch-hit today and that the club hopes he’ll be back in the lineup on Monday in San Diego.

March 29: Star third baseman Jose Ramirez exited the Guardians’ game against the Royals in the sixth inning today due to what the Guardians later announced was a right wrist sprain. The 32-year-old appeared to sustain the injury after landing awkwardly during a headfirst slide in the third inning as he attempted to steal second base. As noted by Zack Meisel of The Athletic, manager Stephen Vogt suggested that Ramirez is day-to-day after the game.

The news is a potentially brutal blow to Cleveland’s hopes of building on a strong 2023 season where they earned a bye through the Wild Card round of the playoffs and made it to the ALCS. Ramirez, of course, was a key part of not only that playoff run but every playoff run the club has made since he completed his first full season in the majors back in 2016. Since then, Ramirez has received votes for the AL MVP award in every season except for 2019 while finishing in the top 5 for the award five times. He’s made six All-Star appearances and slashed an incredible .284/.358/.522 during that time with 340 doubles, 247 home runs, and 223 stolen bases all while playing solid defense at third base.

The switch-hitter is among the game’s most consistently excellent players, even among his fellow stars. Part of that consistency has been thanks to his exceptional durability. Ramirez has appeared in at least 152 games and stepped up to the plate at least 618 times in every 162-game campaign since his first full season as a big leaguer besides his 129-game 2019 season, but today’s injury risks putting another asterisk on that lengthy track record. Fortunately, Vogt seemed to indicate that the club’s current expectation is that he won’t miss significant time due to the issue.

“He’s day-to-day,” the manager said, as relayed by Meisel. “We’re going to see how he feels in the morning. It’s early in the year. But I think I’m gonna have to hold him down to keep him out of there.”

There’s no replacing a player of Ramirez’s caliber for any club, but the Guardians are particularly lacking in depth on the infield dirt after trading utility man Tyler Freeman to the Rockies to re-acquire outfielder Nolan Jones just before Opening Day. Gabriel Arias handled third base in Ramirez’s today and could be tasked with covering for the club’s star in the event he misses time, but Arias was already ticketed for at least semi-regular reps at second base this year. Daniel Schneemann played at the keystone today and could slot in if Ramirez misses only a short period of time, but if a trip to the injured list opens up a roster spot the club could instead turn to infield prospect Juan Brito, who posted strong numbers at Triple-A last year but has not yet made his major league debut.

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