All eyes were on the future as we reached the end of the season-capping press conference with Alex Anthopoulos and Brian Snitker
We’ve got more comments from Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos and we’ve also got plenty of comments from manager Brian Snitker as well. Both of these highly-influential figures talked to the media last week in the wake of Atlanta’s elimination from the Postseason and it’s clear that both of them are keeping a level head as they examine this season while keeping an eye on the next season. This’ll be the last part of this trilogy but I’m sure that we’ll hear more from the Braves organization as we get deeper into the offseason.
Brian Snitker on keeping the clubhouse culture strong in 2024
As I’ve mentioned in articles in the past, one of the things that is indisputable about Brian Snitker is that he’s always done a great job at keeping the peace in any given clubhouse and he managed to pull it off once again in 2024. “They [all of the injured and struggling stars] were still visible here. They weren’t out of the mix,” said Snitker when asked if the leaders were still active in the clubhouse despite their various struggles. “Matt Olson was the same every day he came in here [despite his struggles] — there were no ups or downs, there were no emotional swings. I know he got pissed off and I know it didn’t go how he wanted but you would never know that with the way he walked through the door every day. He never asked out — he signed a contract to play and boy [did] he ever.”
“Austin was visible, Ozzie was here and we took him with us on the road when he wasn’t playing because I liked having him around. The cohesiveness never really waned.” As Ramón Laureano hinted at during his press appearance in the Wild Card series, the word around baseball is that the Braves have a really good thing going as far as their clubhouse is concerned and Brian Snitker said as much. “When you get new guys in here, they’ve played against us and they see what’s going on here in this clubhouse because those guys talk about with each other on other teams. I think all those guys from afar, they look in and say “I want to be apart of this” and I think once they get here, they understand why. It makes it easier on my job.”
“There are a lot of tough conversations over the course of a year, which there is every year. I think if you’re truthful with a player and you just sit them down and tell them what you’re thinking […] you’re a grown man and you can handle what I’m going to tell you and it’s the truth. If they come in here and they sit down, I’m going to tell you the truth. They may not like it but they do respect you for telling the truth. I always tell the guys, I’m going to treat everybody fair but I’m not going to treat you the same.”
On what the future holds for Drake Baldwin
Drake Baldwin had an incredible season in the minors and there was enough chatter to where there were tiny rumblings that the young catcher would get a call-up at some point. Alex Anthopoulos addressed those rumblings in the presser by saying “The way he’s played, he’s definitely a phone call away at this point. We’ve pulled guys up from Mississippi before.”
With that being said, AA made it clear that they’re going to be especially patient with Baldwin, especially considering that the Braves are already pretty deep at the top of their organization when it comes to catcher. “We have two guys at the major league level that we’re really fond of,” said AA. “I view the young catching position as breaking in a glove. There’s just so much more to it. There is so much thrown at these guys with the game planning, the game calling and everything else beyond your offensive responsibilities. I don’t think you ever go wrong at giving anybody at that position more time to develop.”
Still, AA was very complimentary and happy about Baldwin’s performance this season. “I think he’s one of the best prospects in the organization and one of the best prospects in the game. It’s not a secret or surprise. He put up close to .900 OPS in Gwinnett as a left-hander and his makeup is off the charts. If we would’ve had an injury crisis, he would’ve been in the mix. However, Tromp did a great job for us and he’s on the roster.”
These last few comments seemed to indicate that if Drake Baldwin continues to improve then he could be called upon as the next guy to fill in at catcher when or if they’re in a real jam at catcher. “Baldwin being in Gwinnett next year is definitely in play depending on how things go. That’s one position that you can’t have a guy that’s banged up for a day or two, give him four-or-five days and go short-handed. The minute someone can’t go, you got to get someone there for him the next day,” said AA about Baldwins next jump in the organization. “Between Tromp and him, we feel good. I think we all learned [from what happened with the catcher situation in 2021] and I don’t want to go through that again. I like having that depth and while I don’t want to speak for Snit, I think we all feel the same way.”
On what the goal is for this upcoming offseason
When Alex Anthopoulos was asked straight-up about what Atlanta’s plans were for the offseason, we got some good ol’ fashioned GM-speak as the initial answer. “Get better. I know that’s a corny, cliché answer but it’s our goal just because our competition is getting better. You have to get better at all times,” stated Anthopoulos, who went on to talk about how last offseason’s goal was clear from the moment they got knocked out of the Postseason.
“Last offseason, we didn’t know if we’d be able to pull off [strengthening the rotation] but there was an urgency in that aspect because two years in a row we were just a starter or two short going into the Postseason. We went into 2022 thinking “Fried-Morton-Strider-Kyle Wright” and even in ‘23 we had those guys so you felt good about those four. Ultimately, things happened and we didn’t have that depth. Now we have that depth.”
When he was asked about pinpointing an exact spot to improve in the offseason, AA once again went into GM-speak mode in that he answered the question without really giving a concrete answer — as you would expect this early on in the offseason. “Right now, it’s tough to pinpoint one thing and we’ll spend time talking as a group,” said AA. “You have to assess, “Are people going to be able to repeat certain seasons? Even the good ones?” Is it fair to think “Will Ronald be an MVP two years in a row?” [Probably] no, but we’re still expecting him to be a really good player again. We’ve got a good club, we’ve got a lot of talent, I think we’re always looking short-and-long term, we’re looking towards 2026 and 2027 with the decision-making.”
“A lot of it is dictated by who’s available in free agency, who’s available via trade and you’re trying to stay ahead of it. I don’t know that it’s one specific thing right now but unless you rank No. 1 at everything, you can get better at all times. Even though we led in ERA, I don’t think it’s fair to say that Sale’s going to win the Cy Young again (even though he hasn’t won it yet), that Reynaldo López is going to have a 2 (in ERA), that Schwellenbach [has another strong season] but I do expect those guys to be good. We can still get better and we can definitely get better from an offensive standpoint. We’ll go through the roster and see what’s available to us.”
Brian Snitker was asked some questions along the same line of thinking and he appeared to be in lockstep with his GM. “I don’t close the door on [improving] anywhere,” said Snitker. “I think we can get better all across the diamond. With great seasons comes great expectations the next year and as you peel the banana to get the layers of becoming an established major leaguer, those are huge things for teams and individuals. I don’t think you close the door on anything, I’m like Alex. Things are going to transpire and I wish it was that easy for him to say “I need another starter” and then pinpoint it and go get him. I think you just have to wait, process and look at what’s available […] I like the nucleus that we have here and I like the bulk of the guys that we have here.”
“Can we get better? I don’t think you can ever not get better. I think over that course of that 14 year divisional run, I don’t think there were any less than 10 changes made every year on a particular team. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. I think we approach it like we have been approaching it and we’ve been doing a great job. Even in spring training, we feel like “We’ve got to start somewhere.” Thinking about the changes that were made from March until today, it’s unbelievable. You go into spring training, you’re not even scratching the surface for what you’re going to have by the time the season ends.”