Ron Washington should have never left the Atlanta Braves for the Los Angeles Angels, but that does not change the fact that he was never going to get a serious look to be Brian Snitker’s successor in Atlanta. He and Snitker are approaching retirement. Both men are baseball lifers, but Snitker has been with the Braves organization since the 1970s. Atlanta will allow him to retire on his own accord soon.
As the Braves wrap up the final game vs. the Halos in Orange County on Sunday afternoon, we have to wonder what could have been if Washington and first base coach Eric Young Sr. would have stayed put. Washington was instrumental in improving Atlanta’s infield defense. His greatest project was Austin Riley at third base. He has become phenomenal defensively over there. We all do mHowever, age, timing and other issues at hand are why Washington was never going to replace Snitker. In my honest opinion, Atlanta will go in one of two directions in-house to replace their manager, whenever that day comes. It could be this offseason or in a year or two. It will come after Snitker retires from the coaching profession. His successor could be Walt Weiss or Matt Tuiasosopo.
Like Washington, Weiss has major league managerial experience, having led one of his former teams in the Colorado Rockies from 2013 to 2016. Another thing he has in common with Washington besides playing in the big leagues for over a decade is he is beloved by several franchises he has worked for. Weiss is an Oakland Athletics legend, and was a great player for the Rockies and Braves.Weiss may be 60, but Snitker is 68 and Washington is 72. Tuiasosopo may only be 38, but again, he has to become a bigger household name within the heart of Braves Country to get his big opportunity. Remember that Gonzalez was Bobby Cox’s hand-picked successor back in 2011. He had a few good seasons to start, but it hit the fan hard for him in 2014 and he never recovered in Atlanta.
Give it a year or two, and we may see Weiss get his next big opportunity to lead a major league team.
