Brian Snitker: Losing coaches is "the price of success"

Manager Brian Snitker discussed losing base coaches Ron Washington & Eric Young Sr and bullpen coach Drew French

At the Winter Meetings, teams are frequently in and out of meetings with Major League Baseball, agents of free agents, and with different media outlets. 

But one secondary - yet important - focus is on job interviews. While there's a lot of job seekers looking to meet with baseball personnel for entry-level positions, there's also higher-level meetings happening in Nashville. 

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker wouldn't commit to specifics on Atlanta's process, but he did acknowledge that they're working on replacing departed base coaches Ron Washington, who left to take the head job with the Los Angeles Angels, and Eric Young Sr., who is joining Washington's staff in LA. 

"We're in discussions, and we're doing our due diligence. We don't feel pressured to do anything, and it's just like the players we've lost (in previous offseasons, referring to Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman): all three of them were very beneficial in our success." 

But Snitker, respectfully, insisted that the team would be able to move on without those coaches and still be successful. "We've created a situation where we're not defined by one player (or) one coach - we're going to fill those voids and we'll continue to be really good."

But Snitker said he expected this, eventually. "I told Alex (Anthopoulos): That's the price of success. People want your people, which is great opportunities for all those guys." 

Snitker did spend some time giving credit to an unheralded third member of the staff that departed this season: bullpen coach Drew French, now the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles.  

Braves lose another coach, as bullpen coach Drew French moves to Baltimore as pitching coach

"Man, I'm so happy for Drew. He's ready for this. His time with Kranny (pitching coach Rick Kranitz) just helped him develop more." 

French, who took over as Atlanta's bullpen coach for the 2021 season, had one of the toughest jobs on the coaching staff, according to Snitker. 

"It's not easy to be a bullpen coach. That's a surly group, and how those guys gravitated to him was really impressive." Snit specifically singled out some of the veterans that were in that pen, like Will Smith and Darren O'Day, and how they took to French. "They knew (that) he knew what he was talking about. I'm excited for him to get this opportunity, because he's ready for it."  

Braves Today is on site at the Winter Meetings and you can view the entire Brian Snitker presser on our YouTube Channel!

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