The Atlanta Braves have promoted longtime bench coach Walt Weiss to be the team's new manager succeeding Brian Snitker who is now part of the team's front office.
Weiss, of course, had a long-playing career as a shortstop winning the AL Rookie of the Year in 1988 while a member of the Oakland A's. He would later play with the Florida Marlins during their expansion season in 1993 before signing with the Colorado Rockies as a free agent and then spending his final three seasons as a player with the Braves retiring at the end of the 2000 season.
After his playing career, Weiss would join the Rockies' front office in 2002 and remained through 2008 when he stepped down to spend more time with his family. Weiss returned to the Rockies when he was hired to manage the team in 2013. The Rockies never enjoyed a winning season during his tenure, and he would step down from his managerial role following the 2016 season following an acrimonious relationship with GM Jeff Bridich.
Following a year away from pro baseball, Weiss rejoined the Braves in 2018 becoming the team's bench coach under Snitker. Weiss was part of the team when it won the World Series in 2021. It was Weiss' first World Series ring since 1989 when he earned one as a player with the A's.
Unlike the San Francisco Giants who found their new manager in the collegiate ranks, the Braves have opted to stay inhouse. After all, Atlanta enjoyed seven consecutive post-season appearances between 2018 and 2014 with six straight NL East titles along with the aforementioned World Series title in 2021. A case could be made that their 76-86 fourth-place finish in the NL East in 2025 was an aberration. Over the final third of the season, the Braves went 30-24.
So, while the Braves thought it best to reassign Snitker to a different role within the organization, they have clearly concluded the team is not need of a radical rebuild. In which case, Weiss provides a source of continuity. It will be interesting to see if 2025 was indeed an anomalous season and that they will return to post-season form under Weiss in 2026 and beyond.
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