Brian Snitker Facing 'Out of Touch' Criticism Over Kelenic-Acuña Controversy

It's difficult to strike the right chord while discussing all the various sides of a social media argument. That's essentially what Atlanta Braves outfielder Jarred Kelenic not running hard after a single Saturday has turned into, particularly with 2023 MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. sharing his opinion on the matter on X (formerly Twitter).

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal did exactly that, though, with his assessment of the situation Monday morning.

"Snitker should have taken the same stance with Kelenic, a struggling player who presented a much easier target than Acuña, a future MVP, did in 2019. Kelenic, batting .180, has been a subject of fan frustration. He very well could be the player sent to Triple A when Acuña rejoins the Braves, possibly in early May," wrote Rosenthal.

"Instead, Snitker created an opening for the team’s franchise player to question him. This controversy, like most fueled by social media, might very well have a short shelf life. But the issue raised by Acuña is the kind that might expose a rift in a team that is almost one-third Latin."

For those who were enjoying Easter weekend instead of the Braves' first sweep of the 2025 regular season, Kelenic admired a hit during the sixth inning of Saturday night's game. The problem for the Braves outfielder was the hit bounced off the right field wall instead of landing over the fence.

Initially, Kelenic was safe at second on a close play. After review, though, the umpires ruled Kelenic out, which turned the play into a very embarrassing moment for the outfielder.

Two days later, it's an embarrassing moment for Braves manager Brian Snitker.

After Sunday's game, Snitker told reporters he didn't see Kelenic not running hard. As a result, it was Kelenic holding himself responsible for the running mishap, not Snitker.

Kelenic told reporters he went into Snitker's office Sunday morning to apologize for the error. Kelenic initiated the meeting, not Snitker.

Acuña called out Snitker for having a double standard.

"If it were me, they would taken me out of the game," Acuña wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted.

Snitker benched Acuña in 2019 for nearly the same play -- not running hard right out of the batter's box and settling for a single on a fly ball that hit off the right field fence.

Rosenthal mentioned Snitker has benched other players for similar base running mishaps -- Ender Inciarte in July 2018 and Marcell Ozuna in June 2023.

Like Acuña, those two players are Latin. That wasn't lost on Rosenthal.

"All three of those players are Latin. Kelenic is White, as is Snitker, who is 69. Inevitably, some will view this matter solely through the lens of race. We can’t know for sure how much of a role that played. Within the game, Snitker is held in high esteem, in part because of his feel for players, as both Acuña and Ozuna can attest," wrote Rosenthal.

The race of those four players was likely not a factor in Snitker's management of each situation. But the optics are terrible.

Even putting the Kelenic mishap in a vacuum, Snitker failed as a manager.

"Snitker routinely draws praise for his even demeanor and stable leadership. Coming from the Bobby Cox school, he generally prefers to handle sensitive matters behind closed doors. This time, though, he looked out of touch. And short-term, the timing could not be worse," wrote Rosenthal.

If I was to nitpick one aspect of Rosenthal's argument, I'd actually say the timing could have been worse. It would have been much worse had this happened a week ago. There's a chance for this controversy to blow over because the Braves are now playing their best baseball of the young season.

Had the Braves lost Saturday in part because of Kelenic's error or lost another series over the weekend, things would be much worse.

But Rosenthal's point is still well warranted. The Braves have a potential locker room issue on their hands as the result of Snitker's failure. Acuña's tweet exacerbated the situation publicly. But the issue was going to exist regardless.

Snitker has damage control to do. Continuing the weekend's winning streak Monday would be a start.