Atlanta Braves have rehired Fredi Gonzalez as a 3rd Base coach. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
ATLANTA — The Braves made a notable coaching change Monday, bringing back former manager Fredi Gonzalez to serve as third-base coach, team president Alex Anthopoulos announced.
In a corresponding move, third-base coach Matt Tuiasosopo has accepted a position on the Braves’ minor league staff after previously coaching Triple-A Gwinnett.
“If we were going to make a change like this, we needed to know that we were bringing in somebody with a lot of experience who could hit the ground running,” Anthopoulos said.
Gonzalez, who managed both the Marlins and Braves, spent the past five seasons on the Orioles’ staff, including three as bench coach, before departing last offseason. Braves manager Brian Snitker served as Gonzalez’s third-base coach from 2011-13 and replaced him as skipper in 2016.
“There’s been some aggressive sends, and that’s part of the job,” Anthopoulos said. “But the results — from my standpoint, and in talking to Snit — we felt like we could do better.”
Anthopoulos added that Gonzalez’s reputation as one of the game’s top third-base coaches made this a rare midseason opportunity.
“The reviews I’ve gotten are that he’s as good a third-base coach as you’re going to find,” Anthopoulos said. “If he hadn’t been available, we likely don’t make this move.”
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