Market Data 
When it rains, it pours. Unfortunately, sometimes the rain is kerosene, and it pours right onto an existing dumpster fire.
The Atlanta Braves started the season 0-7. It took until their 20th game for them to win two in a row (pushing their record to 7-13). They are currently 11-14, in last place in the National League East, and 6.5 games out of first.
The Braves’ best pitcher, Spencer Strider, came back from major elbow surgery to pitch one game before straining his hamstring. Their former MVP, Ronald Acuña Jr., has not yet returned from ACL surgery. And pitcher Reynaldo López is currently in the IL for at least the next twelve weeks with an undisclosed shoulder injury.
After an injury-marred 2024 season, the Braves could not have gotten off to a worse start. And then, last Saturday night, outfielder Jarred Kelenic decided to throw some additional fuel on the dumpster fire. It’s been a full week, but even with the passage of time, this dustup doesn’t look any better – for anyone involved.
In the sixth inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins, Kelenic hit a long drive to right field. Off the bat, Kelenic thought he got it all, and stopped to admire his shot (see above). Unfortunately for him, the ball bounded off the top of the wall. Kelenic ultimately got into gear, trying to get at least a double, but he was thrown out at second base. The Braves had already tied the game when Michael Harris II led off the inning with a homer.
Nick Allen followed Harris with a single to right. Kelenic then had his fateful at-bat. Allen moved up to third on Kelenic’s long single, and scored when the next batter, Alex Verdugo, singled to right. But, instead of it being a two-run single, providing the Braves with a two-run lead, giving Atlanta four straight hits with no outs, Verdugo found himself at first with one out. Two batters later, the inning was over. Luckily for the Braves, they held onto their one-run lead to win the game 4-3.
The next inning, Kelenic trotted right back out to right field as if nothing had happened.
After the game, reporters rushed to manager Brian Snitker to get his reaction. And this is where the team’s leader decided to throw some additional fuel on the dumpster fire.
MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman asked Snitker if he had said anything to Kelenic. Snitker angrily replied: “Was I supposed to?” There are about 50 or 500 reasons why this is a bad response; one that should not have been uttered either in the heat of the moment or after careful consideration. Part of being a major league manager is knowing how to deal with the press, and knowing how to respond to difficult questions. This was not a difficult question.
Snitker eventually said that he did not see the play. There are about 50 or 500 reasons why this is problematic. Sure, maybe, in the moment, the manager was looking at a scouting report, or was on the phone to the bullpen, or sneezed just as his right fielder swung the bat. It is easy to miss one play in a three-hour game. But it was only the sixth inning. Someone, a coach on his staff, an executive in the front office, a fan sitting next to the dugout, had to make Snitker aware of what just transpired. But, to be clear, even if the manager missed the play in real time, the Twins appealed the original “safe” call; the slide at second was replayed on the jumbotron; the game stopped for this to be sorted out. It beggars belief that Snitker didn’t see the play.
Acuña, still away from the club as he rehabs his knee, took to X (formerly Twitter) to throw some additional fuel on the dumpster fire. The next morning he posted: “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.” He quickly realized the error of his ways, and deleted the missive. But it was too late to keep this from furthering the controversy.
To be clear, Acuña was not wrong. He was referencing a game in 2019 when he hit a ball to almost the exact same location as Kelenic, admired the shot in nearly the same manner, but he at least didn’t try to stretch it into a double. After his long single, and after one inning in the field, Snitker brought Acuña down into the tunnel, spoke with him, and then pulled him from the game. Afterwards, Snitker told reporters:
“He didn’t run. You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate, you’re responsible for 24 other guys. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. You can’t do that. We’re trying to accomplish and do something special here, and personal things have to be put on the back burner. You just can’t let your team down like that.”
Last Saturday, Snitker did not pull Kelenic. In an effort to put out his dumpster fire, the manager said he saw the play on Sunday morning and then spoke with Kelenic. The outfielder, and his .170 batting average, was back in the lineup on Sunday, going 1-for-3. He still remains well below the “Mendoza Line” (less than .200), has hit a mere two home runs, and has a negative bWAR for the year. If it is not suitable to reprimand this type of player for a lack of hustle, then who is? If it is not suitable to to punish/bench this type of player for hotdogging in a tie game when you are (at the time) seven games under .500 and fighting for everything just to get to par, then who is?
Unfortunately, no one comes out this looking good. Kelenic adds another chapter to his book of his bust (6th overall pick in 2018; now with his third organization; career total of 0.2 bWAR). Acuña showed his pique and his immaturity by lashing out on social media rather than discussing this directly with his manager. And Snitker showed a total lack of care for what happens on the field, how his decisions (or lack thereof) may affect the clubhouse, or how his reactions play in the press and with the public. Being a manager requires being proficient at many skills, and with this incident, Snitker failed at all of them.
At best, this event represents a manager already checked out in what may be his final season at the helm of the team. At worst, it infers racial disparity in assessing punishment for misdeeds. In the middle, it is just a bad look all around.
The Braves have enough talent to win the NL East, and are only a win-streak away from leaping over the Nationals, Marlins, and Phillies to get right back into contention with the Mets. But, the effects of “L’affaire Kelenic” may linger for much, much longer.
