ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2025 season, the team announced Friday.
Snitker, 67, guided the Braves to the World Series championship in 2021, and they won 101 regular-season games and a fifth straight National League East Division title last year. He is the first manager in franchise history to take the team to the postseason five times in his first six full seasons.
During the Braves Fest event for fans last Saturday at Truist Park, Snitker said he is excited about the future of the team, which has locked up many core players to long-term deals despite losing first baseman Freddie Freeman and shortstop Dansby Swanson as free agents in back-to-back offseasons.
Snitker applauded the work of general manager Alex Anthopoulos in signing newly acquired catcher Sean Murphy and others to long-term deals.
"We've done a good job," Snitker said. "I think now you're going to see the core group of these guys here every year for this thing. I think that's what Alex does, keeping those young, quality guys around."
Murphy signed a $73 million, six-year contract after he was acquired from the Oakland Athletics. The 28-year-old will share playing time behind the plate with Travis d'Arnaud, who turns 34 next month.
The Braves also reached long-term deals in the past year with sluggers and corner infielders Matt Olson and Austin Riley, as well as center fielder Michael Harris II and pitcher Spencer Strider, who starred as rookies in 2022. Four years ago, outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and second baseman Ozzie Albies signed long-term deals. Olson, who turns 29 in March, is the oldest of those six players.
With the Chicago Cubs signing Swanson, the Braves plan on having Vaughn Grissom, who contributed at second base as a rookie last year, competing with Orlando Arcia at shortstop in spring training.
Atlanta has seven core players under contract for at least three more seasons, and club options could extend the deals even more.
Now Snitker is on board for at least three more seasons. He will be entering his 47th year with the organization and his seventh full season as Braves manager. He took over as interim manager on May 17, 2016, before having the interim label removed later that year.
He has a 542-451 record with Atlanta after totaling more than 1,300 wins in the minor leagues.
Snitker finished third in manager of the year voting last season after winning the award in 2018. He also was a finalist for the honor in 2019 and finished fourth in 2020 and 2021.
After waiting so long for his opportunity to manage in the majors, he has shown no sign he's thinking of retiring. He said he's planning to make one change to routine in future offseasons, though, by taking repeat visits to Hawaii for longer vacations. He said he took his wife, Ronnie, on their first one-week visit after last season.
"That's the first time I've taken a nonbaseball-related trip with my wife," Snitker said. "I said if I'm going to keep working, we've got to start doing this every year. ... I'm going for longer next time."