Braves potential managers narrowed down to three

The Braves have narrowed their managerial search down to three candidates, according to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball. The contenders are former Rangers manager Ron Washington, former Padres manager Bud Black, and interim manager Brian Snitker.

Over at Talking Chop, the word is that “various reports have pegged Snitker and Black as front runners for the job so the inclusion of Washington is interesting.” Washington resigned as the Rangers’ manager after the 2014 season due to “personal reasons” that were related to an extramarital affair. In eight seasons in Texas, Washington had a 664-611 record and lead the team to two AL pennants.

Bud Black last managed the Padres in the middle of 2015, finishing a nearly nine-year run as their manager with a 649-713 record. The Padres never made the postseason during that time, though they were close to doing so in 2010 until the Giants won game 162.

It’s quite possible that Washington’s inclusion is due to the fact that he has been able to lead a team to the postseason numerous times, but his off-the-field life might be of concern to a rebuilding team.

It makes sense that Black and Snitker are the front runners, though, as Snitker is familiar with the Braves and Black is a veteran manager, despite managing a mostly losing team for the better part of nearly a decade.