The Braves have now assembled their hitting coaching staff for the 2025 season
Both coaches will join a Major League coaching staff for the first time in their careers.
Mélendez has been with the Braves organization for 17 seasons in the minor levels, working at practically every level of the system. In 2024, he worked for the rookie ball FCL Braves after spending the previous three seasons with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Quattlebaum joins from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He has also played with the Seattle Mariners and the New York Mets.
Under new manager Brian Snitker, the Braves spent the early offseason rebuilding their coaching staff. In mid-October, the Braves parted ways with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes, and catcher Sal Fasano. While the catching coach position will not be replaced, we have made three new hiring, including an additional assistant coach.
These initial maneuvers surprised me. The intention, according to press conferences held after the Braves were eliminated from the postseason, was to keep the present staff. At first, it appeared that they were inclined to dismiss this year as a fluke, a bad year marred by injuries. However, the plans changed about a week later, allowing the departing coaches to seek other possibilities this offseason.
While this was not stated as a cause, there is another side to this. The Braves have organized a new coaching staff to meet with free agents this weekend.
In total, the Braves added two new players and promoted one from inside. The Braves have a long history of doing the latter, since Snitker was with the team for decades before being made manager.
In a single season, the Braves’ offense went from the best in baseball to a big liability.
In 2023, they led the league in batting average (.276), on-base percentage (.344), slugging percentage (.501), OPS (.845), home runs (307), and total runs (914). They were the only team to have hit 300 home runs and scored 900 runs or more.
By 2024, they had scored 240 fewer runs and hit 94 fewer home runs. They got fewer walks, but the overall loss in production was due to a decline in their hitting ability. The team’s batting average dropped to.243.
Healthy players, some of whom were all-stars last season, had their output decline when the club needed them to step up.
