Braves Manager Walt Weiss Among Several Fresh Faces in NL East

As Walt Weiss approaches the halfway point of his first season as the Atlanta Braves' skipper, another new face will emerge on the scene.

The New York Mets opted to part ways with their manager Carlos Mendoza as they continue to stumble through 2026. Andy Green, a former big league manager who has been in the Mets' player development department will take over.

With the move, every manager in the National League East is virtually new. Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCollugh is now the longest-tenured manager, and he's in his second season. Weiss is technically third behind Nationals manager Blake Butera since his first game was a day later.

Technically, two teams don't have a manager at all. Don Mattingly is an interim, like Green. He took over about a month into the season after the Phillies moved on from Rob Thomson.

Granted, even if both Thomson and Mendoza were still around, there still wouldn't be a long-time manager, per se. With Brian Snitker's retirement after last season, Thomson was the longest-tenured, and he took over as an interim manager midway through 2022. Snitker had been the manager of the Braves for six years at the point.

Still, having every manager being at the helm for fewer than two years is absurd.

Apparently, the Braves have a thing for timing out new managers alongside other new ones within the division. When Snitker became the interim manager in 2016, Dusty Baker and Mattingly were in their first years of leading the Nationals and Marlins. Pete Mackanin was in his second year of leading the Phillies.

However, even then, it wasn't drastic as this. Terry Collins was in his sixth season as the Mets' skipper. It's safe to say that while the Braves navigate a new era, they aren't alone.

In a sense, it's a reflection of how turbulent the NL East has been lately. Snitker retired following a losing season. Whether that was his plan or not, that's how it timed out. The Mets collapsed last season, putting Mendoza on thin ice from the jump, and the Nationals fired Dave Martinez after a string of losing years following their World Series title.

For what it's worth, the division has reclibrated in a sense and has gotten stronger.

While the Braves have been between a rock and a hard place the last two weeks, they were unstoppable for the first two and a half months.

Cracks having showing, but they're considered World Series contenders. There curiousity in who will they pursue as an upgrade at the trade deadline. That wasn't the case last season.

The Phillies have gotten their act together under Mattingly. Sure, they're playing how they should on paper, but he'll get the credit. After taking a team that started 9-19 and making them the first wild card in the National League that is almost 10 games over .500, he should.

Perhaps that'll earn him the job full-time. McCullough and Butera aren't necessarily World Series-contending managers yet, but both have their teams within three games of a playoff spot.

The Nationals have already shown they can cause the Braves trouble.

Seeing everyone else having fun, the Mets must have realized that some change can be good.

The Braves may want to keep an eye out for how Green leads his team up in Queens. They already dropped two of three while on the road earlier this month. If the Mets turn things around, the don't want to get caught being upset again.

So, Weiss is not alone in being the new manager on the block. So far, he's been able to lead his team to some solid heights. However, some fellow new managers can say they're also on the upswing.

Buckle up. The rest of this season could be more of a ride compared to the next few months. This could be the case even if the Braves find their footing again.

Add us as a preferred source on Google