<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RfCVFYBnCnAZITmU-SxFhKF8hbI=/0x0:5378x3585/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73645566/2159865459.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Atlanta will be on the search for two new hitting coaches this offseason after previously stating that the whole staff would be returning. Last week, when Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker were asked by the media as to whether or not the coaching staff would be returning, both GM and manager responded very strongly in the affirmative. It sure seemed like the Braves were going to be heading into 2025 with no changes to their coaching staff, at least.
However, we just got a reminder of how quickly things can change in the baseball business as Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is now reporting that the Braves will, in fact, be making changes to their coaching staff for 2025. Kevin Seitzer, Bobby Magallanes and Sal Fasano are all set to make their exit.
Breaking: The Braves are making changes to their coaching staff. Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes and catching coach Sal Fasano will not return in 2025. The Braves will hire two hitting coaches, but will not fill Fasano’s role.— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) October 10, 2024
David O’Brien of The Athletic used the word “fired” in his tweet reporting the news, so that seems to indicate that this may not have been a mutual parting of ways between everybody involved. Atlanta’s offense took a precipitous drop in 2024 when compared to 2023 and while injuries definitely took their toll on this team, seeing the team go from having a (what Alex Anthopoulos described as) historically-good collective slash line of .276/.344/.501 with a team wOBA of .359 and a team wRC+ of 125 to sliding down to .243./.309/.415 with .315 wOBA and a completely average team wRC+ of 100 had to have been jarring for anybody to deal with.
Still, it’s a bit shocking to see the team make this about-face after it seemed as if the Braves were simply going to run it back as far as their coaching staff was concerned. However, the Braves are now going to be searching for a new hitting coach and they won’t be having a catching coach for the time being either. For what it’s worth, DOB has already ruled out that Chipper Jones won’t be considered to join the staff as he “has a lot going on outside of baseball,” so there’s that.
Either way, whoever does come in to replace Kevin Seitzer will have some big shoes to fill. Seitzer came into the job in 2014 and while he was here, the offense went from being one of the worst in all of baseball to being a top-10 unit for the past few years — up until last season, that is. Now, it’s time to see which direction the Braves go in with their next hitting coach and whatever that coach is planning to bring to the table as far as a collective hitting approach is concerned.
<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RfCVFYBnCnAZITmU-SxFhKF8hbI=/0x0:5378x3585/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73645566/2159865459.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Atlanta will be on the search for two new hitting coaches this offseason after previously stating that the whole staff would be returning. Last week, when Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker were asked by the media as to whether or not the coaching staff would be returning, both GM and manager responded very strongly in the affirmative. It sure seemed like the Braves were going to be heading into 2025 with no changes to their coaching staff, at least.
However, we just got a reminder of how quickly things can change in the baseball business as Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is now reporting that the Braves will, in fact, be making changes to their coaching staff for 2025. Kevin Seitzer, Bobby Magallanes and Sal Fasano are all set to make their exit.
Breaking: The Braves are making changes to their coaching staff. Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes and catching coach Sal Fasano will not return in 2025. The Braves will hire two hitting coaches, but will not fill Fasano’s role.— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) October 10, 2024
David O’Brien of The Athletic used the word “fired” in his tweet reporting the news, so that seems to indicate that this may not have been a mutual parting of ways between everybody involved. Atlanta’s offense took a precipitous drop in 2024 when compared to 2023 and while injuries definitely took their toll on this team, seeing the team go from having a (what Alex Anthopoulos described as) historically-good collective slash line of .276/.344/.501 with a team wOBA of .359 and a team wRC+ of 125 to sliding down to .243./.309/.415 with .315 wOBA and a completely average team wRC+ of 100 had to have been jarring for anybody to deal with.
Still, it’s a bit shocking to see the team make this about-face after it seemed as if the Braves were simply going to run it back as far as their coaching staff was concerned. However, the Braves are now going to be searching for a new hitting coach and they won’t be having a catching coach for the time being either. For what it’s worth, DOB has already ruled out that Chipper Jones won’t be considered to join the staff as he “has a lot going on outside of baseball,” so there’s that.
Either way, whoever does come in to replace Kevin Seitzer will have some big shoes to fill. Seitzer came into the job in 2014 and while he was here, the offense went from being one of the worst in all of baseball to being a top-10 unit for the past few years — up until last season, that is. Now, it’s time to see which direction the Braves go in with their next hitting coach and whatever that coach is planning to bring to the table as far as a collective hitting approach is concerned.
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