Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker is exactly the leadership the team needed to turn the page on a rebuild. Snitker helped stabilize the team in the 2018 season after a rough first full season as the Atlanta skipper. In the years since the Braves have been consistent postseason contenders with Snitker so often pushing the right buttons at the perfect time.
If there has been one consistent frustration with Snitker, it is his stubborn loyalty to his starters and proven bullpen pieces. At times, this has set the Braves up for great success, with the patience being rewarded. At others, it is banging your head against the proverbial brick wall, hurting your team's chances of winning. Much has been made of shortstopOrlando Arcia's camp struggles,but Snitker had an unsurprising reply when questioned on the subject.
Asked Snit about Arcia: "I don’t look at spring training (stats). I don’t care about spring training. We’ll just start judging a week from (today). I know I looked, he’s been our starting shortstop and we’ve won 193 games, I think, the last two years, so that’s pretty good.”
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano)March 20, 2025
Yes, Snitker is correct the Braves have been consistently great since Arcia took over at the shortstop. However, the team has also flamed out in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. Arcia has been acontributor to the postseason failuresunable to live up to the moment. This was followed up by a .218 average in the 2024 season. Arcia has looked likea worse version of his regular-season selfin spring training.
The problem for Atlanta isn't based on a lack of spring production but a consistent drop in competitive at-bats through the last two years. Snitker's defense would hold far more water if not for this fact. Add in Nick Allen's surprise performance and the Braves should at least consider giving someone else an occasional start at the position.
Atlanta's only path to this not happening is if Arcia is able to turn back the clock to the player he was for the first half of the 2023 season. This level of production helped define a dominating Atlanta lineup where a single easy out couldn't be found. While this remains the outlier for Arcia, there is hope that a healthy Braves lineup helps boost the shortstop's numbers improve.
Right or wrong, at least Snitker remains consistent and remains his player's biggest defender. Even when the veteran manager is wrong this level of loyalty can be respected.
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