The Atlanta Braves have some time to improve their record before the end of the season but this year will go down as a disappointment regardless.
After making the playoffs for the seventh straight time last year, the Braves were set to enjoy healthy returns from several key contributors and make another appearance this year. Instead, with just a few weeks in the regular season to go, they sit a dozen games back from a wild card spot with some soul searching to do this offseason.
One of the team’s biggest winter decisions will come from manager Brian Snitker, who might opt to retire, but hasn’t committed one way or the other at this point. And with that exit looming, Snitker has sent a message to franchise star Ronald Acuna Jr. by pushing him down in the batting order in recent games.
“While Braves fans may not have much to root for at this juncture, if this truly is Snitker’s final month in charge, he’s treating it just like any other — by sending a message to his star player in the midst of a slump,” Mark Powell wrote for FanSided. “No one is tougher on Acuña Jr. than himself, and by moving him down in the lineup two days in a row, Snitker is taking unnecessary shots at a player who is just trying to get healthy again.”
Acuna, who missed a large chunk of this season before returning from a knee injury, hit toward the bottom of the order in the team’s last two games against the Seattle Mariners after being held out of the lineup entirely in the first game. That move came after he failed to log any hits in 16 at-bats so far this month.
Snitker has responded by reducing the pressure on Acuna with a move down the lineup and then with some time off. While that’s not uncommon, Powell warned that Snitker might regret that decision as Acuna has earned the right to hold onto a leading spot amid a slump.
“However, what Snitker fails to understand is that the Braves star player isn’t a kid anymore,” Powell added. “At 27 years old, Acuna Jr. knows exactly what is expected of him. … Whether he stays or goes, Snitker could come to regret such a decision.”
The Braves have little to play for as a disappointing season winds down, but Snitker still has the chance to set a tone that will persist into next year, even if he’s no longer at the helm.
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