All but one of the Braves major league coaches will return for the 2014 season, with third base coach Brian Snitker as the lone exception. The Braves reassigned Snitker within the organization, naming him the manager for Triple-A Gwinnett, the team announced Monday.
The Braves promoted roving minor league instructor Doug Dascenzo to take over as third base coach.
Carlos Tosca will return as bench coach, Roger McDowell as pitching coach, Greg Walker as hitting coach, Scott Fletcher as assistant hitting coach, Terry Pendleton as first base coach and Eddie Perez as bullpen coach.
Braves general manager Frank Wren said the Snitker move allowed the Braves to fill a need in Triple-A after Randy Ready was let go at the end of the season, as well as getting a coach with more outfield and baserunning expertise in the major leagues.
Dascenzo, 49, who spent 13 years as a manager and coach in the Padres farm system, has spent the past two years overseeing outfield and baserunning instruction for all the Braves minor league teams.
“We had every other aspect and discipline covered, and we just didn’t have that covered as well as we would like,” Wren said. “And we have three dynamic outfielders that you really want to make sure that they’re at their best, and then the same thing with the baserunning. Doug has done a tremendous job in our minor leagues the last couple years since he’s been here. And so he was a natural fit and he has great experience coaching third.”
Snitker, 57, has spent 36 years in the Braves organization, starting as a player in 1977 and the past seven as the Braves third base coach. Snitker has 17 years of experience as a minor league manager for the Braves and returns to the Triple-A role for the first time since 2006 when he managed the Richmond Braves.
“Snit is a guy that’s been here for a long, long time and has done a tremendous job,” Wren said. “We know what he brings to that role and we’re excited to have him in Gwinnett. And it’s a couple minutes from home for him.”
Snitker makes his home in Lilburn, a short drive from Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.
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