Braves fire Fredi Gonzalez

The Atlanta Braves fired manager Fredi Gonzalez on Tuesday, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

The team has named Triple-A Gwinnett manager Brian Snitker as their interim manager, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. He is expected to remain in that position for the remainder of the season. 

Gonzalez had been mentioned to be on the hot seat for some time now though it appeared that the Braves' management may decide to give him more time before making a final decision.

The 52-year-old Gonzalez had been serving as the Braves' manager since the 2011 season. 

In that time, he has led the team to success, as the Braves have gone 434-413 in six years under his leadership. They made the playoffs in both 2012 and 2013. 

In 2016, however, the Braves are rebuilding for the future. Even still, however, they have played some historically bad baseball, going 9-28 in their first 37 games. That's a 39-win pace over the course of an entire season. 

It likely isn't entirely Gonzalez's fault that the Braves have played so poorly this season.

Many key players, including center fielder Ender Inciarte and left fielder Hector Olivera, have missed time due to injury or other personal problems. It can't help that offseason acquisition Erick Aybar is hitting for a .422 OPS, either. Regardless, Gonzalez is the casualty due to the Braves' bad play.

Permanent replacement options are currently unknown, though former Padres manager Bud Black and Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo have been mentioned by some as speculative fits. 

--Devan Fink

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