TBNL: Braves, Rockies, Marlins all make hiring decisions

After spending the last eight seasons as Brian Snitker’s bench coach, Walt Weiss has been named the new manager for the Atlanta Braves. Snitker announced following the season that he would step back into an advisor role with the organization. Several former Braves players were publicly speculated as potential fits to replace him (including David Ross and Mark DeRosa), but the team kept their process quiet until announcing that they would remain in-house with their decision. Weiss will turn 62 later this month.

Weiss managed the Colorado Rockies from 2013 to 2016, who were 283-365 (.437).

Weiss spent 14 seasons in the big leagues playing shortstop for the A’s, Rockies, Braves, and Marlins. The 1988 AL Rookie of the Year hit .258/.351/.326 (78 OPS+) during his career.

The hiring leaves just the Padres and Rockies as teams without a manager in place for the 2026 season.

There seemed to be optimism that the Colorado Rockies would have a new head of their front office in place by the time the World Series concluded. Reports suggested the team had narrowed its search to two finalists: Diamondbacks assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye and Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman.

The club now appears to be starting from scratch, according to The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli.

Forman had a final in-person interview two weeks ago in Denver. Sawdaye, considered the favorite of the two, was in town to speak with ownership last Monday. As Ghiroli notes, it is unclear what caused the team to shift gears at this point.

Meanwhile, the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey reported Monday afternoon that the Rockies had spoken with former reliever Adam Ottavino about the team’s front office opening. There are no indications of how serious Ottavino’s candidacy might be, or when the team expects to make a decision.

The Marlins announced a series of front office promotions, including naming Gabe Kapler as the team’s general manager. This makes him the de facto second-in-command under president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix.

Kapler has a surprisingly full resume. After a 12-year playing career, he served as a minor league manager with the Red Sox, the Dodgers’ director of player development (2015-17), manager of the Phillies (2018-19), and then manager of the Giants (2020-23) before joining the Marlins in January 2024 as an assistant general manager.

While Kapler is generally well-respected in baseball circles, he doesn’t come without his warts. While serving as the Dodgers’ director of player development in February 2015, Kapler was reportedly alerted to an incident occurring during spring training involving several of the team’s minor leaguers (including Alex Verdugo), alcohol, and an underage girl. Kapler failed to act. Charges would be filed four years later.

Winners of this year’s Gold Glove Awards were announced on Sunday, with nine first-time winners among the group. With three winners (plus another on the minor league side), the Chicago Cubs had the most players honored.

The full list of winners (and how many they’ve won):

National League

American League

On the minor league side, the full list of winners:

First baseman/left fielder ByungHo Park, who hit 382 home runs over his 17-year career in the KBO, has announced his retirement. Park was one of the KBO’s most fearsome hitters, particularly over four years from 2012 through 2015. He won back-to-back MVP Awards and then followed it up by becoming the first player in league history with back-to-back 50-homer seasons.

Park signed with the Minnesota Twins following the impressive four-year stretch, but his adjustment to MLB pitching did not go well. Park hit just .191/.275/.409 (82 OPS+) in 244 PA, hitting 12 home runs but striking out 80 times (32.8 SO%). He’d spent the second half of the 2016 season and all of 2017 in Triple-A before returning to Korea.

Victor Conte, considered the mastermind behind the 2003 BALCO Labs steroid scandal, died on Monday. He was 75. Conte pleaded guilty in 2005 to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to distribute steroids after he was accused of supplying several notable pro athletes, including Barry Bonds. He’d spend four months in prison.

The Rays and Reds reached an agreement on the offseason’s first trade early Monday. The Rays are acquiring outfielder Ryan Vilade for cash considerations. The 26-year-old has hit just .141/.200/.188 in 71 career plate appearances (including going 1-for-13 in 2025), but he batted .290/.378/.511 in 461 PA at Triple-A this season with the Cardinals and Reds.