The Atlanta Braves have had a tough season, particularly when it comes to falling short of expectations. Despite the struggles, the focus remains on making a deep playoff run in 2026. However, that vision will likely come without longtime manager Brian Snitker, who is expected to retire at the end of the season.
“Because of that consistent recent success, Snit would normally be afforded a ‘mulligan’ year—even though going from the second-best preseason World Series odds to possibly the third-best odds of winning the draft lottery is a pretty serious mulligan,” Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller wrote. “At 69, though, he's already the oldest manager in the National League by a several-year margin and was likely to retire at the end of this season, which is the last one in his current contract.”
ESPN insider Jeff Passan recently named the Braves as a potential landing spot for Kyle Schwarber in free agency.
“Because of all he brings, Schwarber is going to get paid. Like, paid paid. Teams will scoff because of the age, the strikeouts, the positional inflexibility. But Schwarber's total package will ultimately push some of them off such concerns and trigger a bidding war. If he wants, he can get at least four years. The salary, at that term, should be at least $30 million a year,” Passan wrote. “Looking at you Atlanta.”
Schwarber is having such a dominant season that he’s being mentioned alongside Shohei Ohtani in the MVP race.
“Schwarber was probably always going to be a consideration in this year's NL MVP voting, but the game represented his biggest threat to the reigning and still most likely NL winner, Ohtani himself,” Dodgers Way’s Katrina Stebbins wrote.
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For the Braves, acquiring a player like Schwarber would be a major win after a disappointing season. With Ha-Seong Kim proving himself at shortstop, the team could shift its offseason spending toward a power bat like Schwarber instead of investing in a shortstop. The Braves would certainly prefer Schwarber helping them — rather than making history against them. If the deal happens, Atlanta's roster would get a major boost heading into 2026.