Atlanta Braves make it official: on-field staff changes aplenty

How will this organization deal with change?  That’s going to be an important question since there’s a lot of change going around… and it starts today with the on-field staff.

Well, it took a bit longer than we had anticipated, but major league coaching changes have finally been formally announced by the Atlanta Braves:

I save you reading the fine print:

• Walt Weiss – former Colorado Rockies manager and former Braves shortstop (and author of this incredible playoff-game-saving play) will now be Brian Snitker‘s bench coach.
• Eric Young Sr. – yeah, we had his son on the roster for a while – will be the first base coach and outfield instructor.
• Sal Fasano joins the organization as catching coach.  Though it was not stated, I think we can expect Fasano to be working with a lot of the minor league catching prospects that the Braves have coming through the system – notably Alex Jackson and Drew Lugbauer.

What happens with Terry Pendleton and Eddie Perez?  Both have offers to remain in the organization.  Given that they have aspirations to manage someday… I’m not confident that those offers will be accepted, but at least the Braves made the gesture.

Changes not made?

• Ron Washington – stays as third base coach
• Chuck Hernandez – stays as pitching coach
• Marty Reed – stays as bullpen coach
• Kevin Seitzer – stays as hitting coach
• Jose Castro – stays as assistant hitting coach

Out With the Old

Pendleton’s tenure in Atlanta dates back to 1991 when he was brought in to help launch the worst-to-first campaign that took Atlanta to the brink of a World Series title.  Unfortunately, he missed out on the 1995 celebration, and returned in late 1996 for a brief stint.

He became a coach for Atlanta after the end of the 2001 season and has been with the organization in various coaching roles up to this point.  He had been a candidate for multiple managerial jobs – including the Braves – over that time, but never quite got there.

Eddie Perez, AKA ‘Greg Maddux‘s personal catcher’, was with Atlanta from 1995-2001 and again in 2004-05, with a brief minor league stint in 2006… while managing the AA Mississippi club.  In 2007, he joined the major league staff and likewise has stayed with the team since then.

In With the New

This is a departure from the old guard, no doubt.  For those who subscribe to the theory that baseball organization need a changeover every now and again (see also:  Cashman, Brian), today is your day.

The Braves are shedding their links to their past – only Snitker remains from the Bobby Cox days (he was 3rd base coach under Cox from 2007 to 2010, and stayed on for the 1st 3 years of Fredi Gonzalez‘ tenure).

With Walt Weiss, you have someone with managerial experience to support Snit… adding to that of Ron Washington.  Weiss never broke .500 while at the Rockies’ helm, though they improved a bit in his final season (2016), finishing in 3rd place as some of their new talent started to blossom.

Next: Is pitcher development about to take a nose-dive?

So that’s the on-field staff.  In the front office, however… maybe a clean break from that past, too?