The Atlanta Braves are making changes to their coaching staff following their second-place finish in the National League East and playoff loss in the NL wild-card round.
Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes and catching coach Sal Fasano have been fired, The Athletic’s David O’Brien reports. Although the Braves have not made an official announcement, the coaches have been informed of their dismissals, according to O’Brien.
The #Braves fired hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes and catching coach Sal Fasano, a source confirmed to The Athletic. The team has not yet announced the moves, but the coaches have been notified. They were all under contract with the Braves through 2025.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) October 10, 2024
Atlanta finished ninth in the NL with a team batting average of .243 and their .724 OPS ranked seventh. The Braves scored 704 points during the regular season, finishing seventh in the league and giving the team a point differential of +97.
In 2023, Atlanta led the MLB with a team average of .276, a slugging percentage of .501, .845 OPS, 947 runs scored and 307 home runs (which tied an MLB record).
Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. However, he tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee at the end of May and missed the final four months of the season. Ozzie Albies was also out for two months with a broken left wrist. Additionally, Sean Murphy (oblique, elbow) and Austin Riley (broken right hand) missed significant time with injuries that affected the lineup’s production this year.
The Braves will hire new hitting coaches, but will not replace Fasano’s position, which was created specifically for him. Manager Brian Snitker and the rest of his coaching staff are expected to return next season.
All three coaches were under contract through the 2025 season. Seitzer spent the past decade on Atlanta’s coaching staff after stints in the same position with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. Fasano had been with the Braves since 2017, while Magallanes spent three seasons on the Major League staff after two years coaching with the Triple-A club from Atlanta.
Hall of Famer Chipper Jones would be a popular choice for hitting coach among Braves fans. Despite his role as a hitting advisor in previous seasons, he was not part of Snitker’s staff this year and will not fill any of the hitting coach positions.
