Former Rangers manager Ron Washington to interview for Braves job

The Atlanta Braves are thrilled with the job that interim manager Brian Snitker did this season.

They’re still going to look at other potential candidates to lead the team in 2017.

Less than 24 hours after the Braves finished a last-place season with a flourish, team president John Hart said former managers Bud Black and Ron Washington would be interviewed for the job, and other outside candidates may be considered as well.

That doesn’t mean Snitker is out of the running.

“Brian Snitker did a tremendous job,” Hart said Monday. “The year was spiraling out of control. He restored order.”

The Braves won 50 of their last 97 games, including their finale at Turner Field on Sunday. The team is moving to a new stadium in the suburbs next season.

Atlanta was 9-28 when manager Fredi Gonzalez was fired and stood at 18-46 when it began a dramatic turnaround under Snitker.

Hart and general manager John Coppolella both said Snitker was a strong candidate to keep his job based on the way the team responded to his leadership.

Snitker even attended an end-of-the-year media session, insisting he’s comfortable with the process and doesn’t mind waiting for the Braves to make a decision.

“If I was them, I’d be doing the same thing,” Snitker said.

Hart said it was imperative to look at all potential options before deciding who should be in the dugout for the first season at SunTrust Park.

Washington spent nearly eight seasons as Texas manager, guiding the Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances from 2010-11 and capturing a pair of AL Manager of the Year awards. He surprisingly resigned during the 2014 season, revealing later that he stepped down because he had been unfaithful to his wife of 42 years.

Washington spent the last two seasons as a coach with the Oakland Athletics, but his ties to Hart go back to when both worked for the Rangers.

Black spent nearly 8  1/ 2 years as San Diego’s manager, going 649-713 before he was fired during the 2015 season. He had only two winning records and never led the Padres to the playoffs, though he was picked as NL Manager of the Year in 2010.

Black appeared to be in line for the Washington Nationals job going into this season, but negotiations broke down and Dusty Baker was hired instead.

“When you go outside and talk (to candidates), you learn things,” Hart saId. “There are a lot of smart guys out there. It would be shame on us if we didn’t take this opportunity to take a look at the landscape and get a feel for what people think about our club, our players.”

In addition to Snitker, the Braves have also interviewed coaches Terry Pendleton, Eddie Perez and Bo Porter. But Coppolella seemed to rule them out when he said it was unlikely the team would hire someone with no managerial experience over Snitker, especially off his own coaching staff.

Besides the managerial search, here are some things to watch for as the Braves head into the offseason:

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Former Rangers manager Ron Washington to interview for Braves job."