The Braves have a new manager and it’s an internal hire. The club announced today that Walt Weiss is the club’s new skipper. Weiss has been the club’s bench coach for many years but now gets a chance to take on a bigger role.
Weiss, 61, played in the majors from 1987 to 2000. The final three seasons of his playing career were spent in Atlanta. After hanging up his spikes, he pivoted into other roles with the Rockies, first as a special advisor to the front office. He then moved into the manager’s chair and was the skipper in Colorado for four years, beginning in 2013. The club had a losing record in all four of those campaigns, finishing each with between 66 and 75 wins, before Weiss resigned.
Going into the 2018 season, Atlanta hired Weiss to the bench coach position, working as top lieutenant to manager Brian Snitker. That was actually a few days before it was reported that Alex Anthopoulos would be the club’s new front office leader. Atlanta had been rebuilding for the previous few years but they emerged as contenders in that 2018 campaign. They went 90-72, their first of what would eventually be six straight National League East division titles. They won the World Series in 2021.
After the 2022 season, Weiss got some reported interest from the Marlins for their managerial vacancy, though he turned down an interview request. He stayed in Atlanta, continuing to work under Snitker. Snitker announced about a month ago, just before his 70th birthday, that he would not be returning for another season as manager. The club kept their managerial search pretty close to the vest, leading mostly to speculation about who might replace Snitker.
Weiss will now be tasked with turning the club around after a rough patch. After those aforementioned six straight division titles, they slipped to second place and a Wild Card berth last year. Here in 2025, they dropped all the way down to 76 wins and a fourth-place finish.
Expectations will continue to be high, as there is still a lot of talent on the roster. The poor results in 2025 involved several notable injuries and a PED suspension for Jurickson Profar. The club still has a core featuring Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Chris Sale and many others. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will surely look to bolster the club for a return to form in 2026.
Anthopoulos has surely gotten to know Weiss well over the past eight years and feels he is the man to skipper the club back to greatness. What remains to be seen is if Weiss will shake up the coaching staff, but hiring a new bench coach to replace himself should be one item on the to-do list.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
