Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos explains decision to bring back Fredi Gonzalez as third base coach

On how the coaching change came together:

“This had been on my mind for a little bit. I approached Snit about it Sunday, and I had mentioned Fredi’s name, just because, if you’re thinking about a change like this in-season — which, this is my 14th season as a general manager, and first time I’ve made an in-season coaching change, first time I’ve been a part of one as a general manager. Was part of changes as an assistant GM when I was in Toronto.

“I mentioned Fredi’s name to Snit. He had had that time and said, ‘You know what, I was just with him in Philadelphia.’ They’ve been friends for a long time. My thought on this was, ‘If we were going to make a change like this, we needed to know that we were bringing somebody in that had a lot of experience, was high level at this position and could hit the ground running. It couldn’t be a guess, it couldn’t be a maybe, a trial and error. Because look, we could’ve ultimately stuck with Tui, and I know Snit feels strongly about him, that his upside and ceiling is there as a third base coach. There’s been some aggressive sends and that’s part of the job, but the results, from my standpoint and in talking to Snit, he understood and he ultimately agreed that I felt like we could do better.

“A guy like Fredi who, all the work I’ve done on him as a third base coach, he’s had a ton of experience doing it, and people rave about him as a third base coach. The reviews I’ve gotten, he’s as good of a third base coach as you’re gonna find. The opportunity to get someone like him in-season is rare. He wasn’t available in years past, and if he hadn’t been available, I can’t tell you that we would’ve made this move. Because it wasn’t just make it to make it. It had to be the right person and someone that could hit the ground running that we knew would be successful at it, and Fredi’s proven that at the big-league level for years.”

Credit: John Amis

Credit: John Amis

In their announcement, the Braves named Gonzalez their “acting” third base coach. Anything to the “acting” verbiage?

“Oh no, his title is third base coach. Maybe ‘acting’ is more of a — I don’t want to speak for the PR department — everyone understands he’s active. He’ll be active tomorrow, he’ll be in uniform tomorrow, you’ll see him at the ballpark. He is our third base coach, and Tui accepted the position of minor-league infield coordinator. He did phenomenal work with the infielders, and it doesn’t take anything away from that, but ultimately it’s the results at third base. And it’s not for lack of preparation or effort or anything. He’s beloved in the clubhouse, beloved by the coaches, did a phenomenal job in this organization for years in the minors, did a great job at third in Gwinnett.

“But unfortunately like what happens with players — you see closers lose their jobs at times and change roles, you see players change roles over time. We’ve been in a lot of close games, we’ve got a lot of areas that we can still improve upon, and in my view as a front office and as a coaching staff, we need to look for every area that we can get better.

“Tough decision, but Snit and I talked about it initially on Sunday. Spoke again (Monday) morning, talked at length (Monday) morning about it, and then finally came to the agreement that this was the right decision to move forward, and contacted Tui soon thereafter.”

In these situations, the person removed from a role often leaves instead of accepting a reassignment. How did Tuiasosopo take the news?

How did Tui take the news? Obviously, it might be rare for someone in that position — removed from a role — to stay in the organization.

“Yeah, I mean, so we gave him the option. One thing I’m a believer in is let people get on with their lives if that’s what they believe they want to do and they should do. To have him stay in the organization — because, the infield work is fantastic. Our infield has been great this year, the work he’s done the last two years has been great.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

“But again, it was about third base. And (first base coach) Tom Goodwin was not a candidate to coach third. If he would’ve been, we could’ve flipped them. But unfortunately, we needed him to be a base coach. But we still get to use his infield skills in the minor leagues, which will be a real add. He wanted to do it, he was excited about doing it, we gave him the option, we’re thrilled to have him. He was a professional. There’s an emotional component, no doubt about it. But I’ve gotta tell you, very accountable. His response was, ‘Look, if I had done my job better, this wouldn’t have happened’ — and it’s rare that you see people that are those kind of self-evaluators and that accountable.

“And talking to Snit about it, he referenced the fact that (Tuiasosopo) comes from a sports family. His whole family is involved in professional sports. They understand wins and losses. And this is part of sports. And it’s a tough call — especially when you care about someone and you have relationships. They’re not easy. But we’re happy that he gets to stay, gets to stay in the organization and still impact us – because his job wasn’t only third base. The infield was a big part of it. And now, we do get to keep the infield side of it.”

You said multiple times that if Fredi wasn’t available, you might not have made this move. But if Tuiasosopo wasn’t doing the job, why would you keep him?

“Because you can’t just make a change for the sake of change, right? Look, we had Tui last year, he did a fine job. There were moments that were fine, there were moments that were ultimately overly aggressive in my view. But it’s not for lack of effort and so on.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

“If you’re going to make a change, you better feel confident that it’s gonna work and that you’re getting the right person. There’s a reason in 14 seasons now, in my 14th, I haven’t made an in-season change, I haven’t been involved in an in-season change as a general manager. I just don’t believe in putting that much focus and blame on a coach in-season. In this case, I thought it was a special case. I thought it was clear.

“It was in my mind to the point where I started to look privately on my own for who could be out there, and when I came across Fredi’s name, knowing the history, his success, doing work on his experience as a third base coach and how good a job he had done, and then when I brought the name to Snit, he obviously has a great relationship with him but he’s seen him from a baseball standpoint. I think we would’ve continued on. That doesn’t mean that a week from now, two weeks from now, someone wouldn’t have presented themselves. But at this moment in time, we wouldn’t have had a chance.”

When deciding to hire a new third base coach, did you consider any other changes to the coaching staff?

“No. In terms of the current staff, absolutely not. That was the only one that was front of mind. …We all feel strongly about Tui. Snit is not someone that is looking to make any type of changes, and he said, ‘I’ve never been through one of these either.’ I think the only mid-season changes he’s been a part of is when he came in (as interim manager). Again, I haven’t been part of it either. That’s why when we talked about it (Sunday), we agreed that, ‘Let’s talk tomorrow’ which was the off day and continue to just – the hustle and hustle, just get away from it on the off day and have more significant conversations. And I think the personal side of it is the hard part. That’s what makes you pause.

“Which is a reflection of Tui, his character, the work ethic. The infield work was phenomenal, but not everybody is going to be a spectacular third base coach. It’s not an easy position. Snit had a lot of insight into coaching third. And I asked him questions about, can we do something, can we improve, or are there things we can do internally. He’s got years of experience, so there’s no better person than him that understands that job and how hard it is.

“It’s the closest that you’re gonna be to being a player during the game, when you think about it, because you’re impacting runs at that spot. It’s one of those things that from my standpoint, as painful, as hard as it is, we have to constantly do whatever we can — however big or small the moves are — continue to push and try to make the team better.

“I only went to Snit when I looked at the world of candidates that could be out there. It had to be someone that had done it at the big-league level and had done it at a high level and a successful level —because it couldn’t be a guess. Promoting somebody from the minors, you love to promote from within. But we couldn’t get this one wrong. And Freddie’s a proven high-quality, high-caliber third base coach, and people that I talk to around the league today about him that have had him in that role and seen him in that role rave about him in that role. We’re fortunate that he was available. He obviously did the role for Bobby Cox and so on. You don’t last as long as he has as a third base coach without doing a great job. It’s a tough position.”

On the tear in Marcell Ozuna’s hip:

“Yeah, it’s going to be a factor the entire year. But Marcell’s tough, he’s playing through it, he’s still performing. But there’s no doubt he’s playing through it. Even when we took him out and we got tests and so on, he didn’t want to do it. He wants to stay in there, he’s a very durable player, he’s still a productive player. But it’s one of those things that he’s going to have to manage and get to the offseason. We’ve told him, ‘Look, at times, be careful — don’t try to run as fast as you can down to first base, be judicious on the base paths and so on.’

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

“So, if you see him (not run out a) routine ground ball, he might be saving his bullets from that standpoint. He expects to be in there, he expects to play every day. It’s tolerable enough for him to continue to play. It’s a little bit (like) — I’m not saying it’s the same circumstance, but we didn’t realize Joe Jiménez pitched through a lot of (knee) stuff and he pitched at a high level, and he was great. We don’t make the postseason without his contributions — there’s no doubt about it.”