Braves manager Brian Snitker spoke with local media at Saturday's Chop Fest, discussing his team's moves and outlook with spring training weeks away.
Here are some of the topics Snitker covered:
Q: How encouraged are you by the progress Johan Camargo has made this offseason?
A: He looks great. I saw him yesterday and told him I watched the video of him swinging that mallet against the tire or whatever on MLB Network. He's in great shape. Worked really hard this offseason, you can tell. You hope he comes in where he left off because he was really good when he came back from Triple-A.
More Braves Q&As
» Cole Hamels
» Mike Soroka
» Ronald Acuna
» Freddie Freeman
» Read the entire series
Q: What kind of impact can (outfielder) Marcell Ozuna make?
A: Huge. He's that legit guy to bat fourth behind Freddie (Freeman). I've seen him for a long time, and he's always that guy that I know, talking to guys with the Marlins ever since he came up, that he's a guy who hits good pitching. He can really swing the bat. I think he'll be a really good fit here.
Q: What’s the benefit in having veteran Latin players like Ozuna, Felix Hernandez, in camp and working with your younger guys?
A: Absolutely (it can help). It's like, I've talked to Cole Hamels about that same thing. It's what Dallas (Keuchel) brought last year. That veteran presence. It's good. It'll be good for the Latin players, they can relate, having someone who speaks their language. Someone they watched from afar over the years. That can be very beneficial thing.
Q: Did you have any contact with Josh Donaldson as his decision played out?
A: I reached out to him after he signed. I talked to him once, I think at the winter meetings, and it was just a happenstance-type thing that we hooked up. I was watching it from afar because I wanted the guy back. Everybody did. He had to go out and do what he had to do for him, his family. I wish him nothing but the best. He was a big part of what we did last year. I didn't realize the player he was, how good he was. So I'm happy for him. As it turned out, I'd have loved to have him back. He'll be a great asset to a really, really strong team (in Minnesota).
Q: How are you expecting Mike Foltynewicz to respond to his last time out (the Game 5 disaster in the National League Division Series)?
A: I think he'll be fine. I don't think there will be any hangover, anything like that. If anything, I think it'll be the like the whole club. It didn't go as we planned and everybody is anxious and champing at the bit to go south and get this thing going again.
Q: You’ve got to be pretty happy with your bullpen now?
A: It's pretty good. It's going to be one (of our greatest strengths). I think offensively, that's a pretty long lineup all of a sudden, too. It's amazing what one guy can do for a lineup. That was the thinking when we were going after Josh (and eventually signed Ozuna). That's a big hole. We added a legit guy. The bullpen is really deep. We can shorten the game with the additions we've made.
Q: Did you consider moving Ronald Acuna down in the order, had the team not added power, or is he set at leadoff?
A: No. I was looking at other options (if they hadn't signed Ozuna). I think I'm leaving him right where he is. A year ago, I'd envisioned the other, but now – there were other options there. I think this was a big signing for us to get that legit clean-up hitter and guy behind Freddie.
Q: How does this team compare with last year?
A: I think we've gotten stronger. We're going to be stronger with another year under our belt with our younger players. I think with the additions and who we've brought on, especially with that bullpen, is really good and deep. So we've gotten better. We're a stronger team than we were a year ago. And I thought a year ago we were a stronger team than we were the previous year. With the maturation of our younger players, we're going to continue to get stronger by their natural development.
Q: How do you go into spring planning to handle the outfield surplus?
A: We'll just let that play out and see. It's a long season, it's a long spring. It's just something that we'll navigate as we go. There'll be plenty of time for everybody down there. We'll let the spring play out and see where we're at.
