NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Come February, Brian Snitker again will lead a Braves team full of talent.
For now, his boss – president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos – has our attention. He’s the one tasked with building the roster.
At this point, Snitker is comfortable with who the Braves will take into 2024.
“I think you can always probably improve or make changes that are beneficial to you,” he said Tuesday at the winter meetings in Nashville. “If we went to spring training tomorrow, I would feel really good about who we got in tow right now. I feel really good about our team again. And this is a group of driven guys. I say the only thing Alex is ever guilty of is working tirelessly to make this thing better.”
This is true. Anthopoulos is known as a relentless worker. He leaves no stone unturned, no avenue unexplored.
It seems Anthopoulos and the Braves still must add at least one starting pitcher. (They reportedly are interested in Seth Lugo.) But as Snitker said, they have a great foundation. Now, it’s about rounding out the group and strengthening it as much as possible.
Snitker on Tuesday discussed the club’s offseason and its future as 2024 nears.
Bullpen quickly takes shape
After the season ended, Snitker was talking to pitcher Pierce Johnson and said: “Don’t be surprised if Alex (acts) kind of quick on you.”
“Because he did such a good job,” Snitker said Tuesday.
Anthopoulos did, in fact, work quickly. He re-signed Johnson before October ended. Soon after, he re-signed pitcher Joe Jiménez.
In the middle of November, Anthopoulos acquired left-hander Aaron Bummer from the White Sox in a trade that sent Michael Soroka and others to Chicago. (The Braves likely were going to non-tender at least two of the guys they traded.)
A few days after getting Bummer, Anthopoulos signed late-innings stud Reynaldo Lopez.
And just like that, the Braves’ bullpen is full of velocity and stuff.
Snitker talked to Bummer after the Braves acquired the lefty.
“He’s ecstatic about being here,” Snitker said.
And of course, he remembers watching Lopez throw 2-2/3 scoreless frames, with five strikeouts, over two outings against the Braves – and for two different teams – in July.
“I think what we bring, too, the defense, the game-planning, everything that we do, I think is beneficial to a new player that we get,” Snitker said.
And then there’s Tyler Matzek, who’s expected to go to spring training healthy after completing his rehab following Tommy John surgery.
“It’s great,” Snitker said. “I’m sure he can’t wait to get to spring training and get this thing going. He loves to compete. In all his absence, he wasn’t absent. He was there with the guys every day, and that’s a presence that you can’t replace.”
Kelenic comes to Atlanta with potential
Snitker seemed excited about the Jarred Kelenic acquisition.
“Just talked to a few of my scouting buddies here and people that have seen him, and it sounds like he is a tooled-up, really nice-looking player,” Snitker said.
The Braves will have a month of spring training games to see what Kelenic looks like and how he performs. They can then evaluate which way they want to go with left field. At this time, Kelenic and Vaughn Grissom are the only viable internal options.
Anthopoulos said the Braves are finished addressing left field.
The offseason, however, isn’t over. It’s possible the team finds a deal in a trade or free agency that it really likes.
For now, all attention is on Kelenic and the upside he might provide.
“It will be good for him to get in with our group, I think,” Snitker said. “And like you say, our (hitting) program and what we do and how we approach things. I think it will be really beneficial for a young, talented player.”
Braves not feeling pressure to fill staff
Snitker has lost three coaches: Ron Washington, Eric Young Sr. and Drew French. The first two went to the Angels (Washington as manager), and French went to the Orioles, where he’s reported to be their next pitching coach.
“That’s the price of success,” Snitker told Anthopoulos of his coaches getting promotions elsewhere.
Snitker said the Braves are “in discussions” and “doing our due diligence” to fill those vacancies. “We don’t feel pressured to do anything,” he added.
“It’s just like the players that we lost,” Snitker said. “All three of them were very beneficial in our success, but I just always feel like we’re not ever – we’ve created a situation where we’re not defined by one player, one coach. We’re going to fill those voids. It will still continue to be really good.”
Snitker grateful to have Morton back
The Braves probably need one more starting pitcher. Their work is made much easier by the fact that they exercised Charlie Morton’s $20 million club option.
Snitker said the thought of not having Morton would be scary.
“What he is doing is just amazing,” Snitker said. “I mean, he had one of his better years this year. It makes you feel good that you don’t have to go out and replace him because it’s hard to find Charlie Morton out there in a trade or in the open market.”
At 39 years old, Morton posted a 3.64 ERA in 2023.
Snitker praises French
It’s difficult for fans to know much about a bullpen coach. It’s a behind-the-scenes job. It doesn’t get much publicity.
So, what did French bring to Snitker’s staff?
“Man, I’m so happy for Drew. He’s ready for this,” Snitker said. “I think his time with (pitching coach Rick Kranitz) just helped him develop more. But the guy was a tireless worker. I told (Orioles manager) Brandon (Hyde) this when they hired him: ‘You’re not going to out-prepare this guy. He’s going to be ready every single day.’ The biggest thing that stuck out for me is in his first year – It’s not easy to be a bullpen coach. That’s a surly group. And how those guys gravitated to him, I think was really what impressed me. With the veteran guys like Will Smith and Darren O’Day and guys like that and (Tyler) Matzek and (A.J.) Minter, all those guys, how they took to him. They knew he knew what he was talking about. I talked to him yesterday. I’m excited for him to get this opportunity because he is ready for it.”
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