The Atlanta Braves are entering a new era. After missing the MLB postseason for the first time since 2017, the organization announced sweeping offseason changes — beginning with the departure of longtime pitching development director Paul Davis.
The move comes just days after Brian Snitker transitioned into an advisory role, ending his managerial tenure that began in 2016 and included the 2021 World Series championship.
A pitching pipeline reshaped by injuries
Atlanta finished the 2025 regular season with a 76–86 record, its worst since 2017, largely due to a cascade of injuries. Every member of the team’s Opening Day rotation spent time on the injured list — including Reynaldo López, Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, and AJ Smith-Shawver.
The relentless attrition derailed a staff once considered among baseball’s deepest and most dynamic.
Paul Davis departs Braves after six impactful years
According to reports, the Braves “have parted ways with director of pitching development Paul Davis.” Davis joined Atlanta in 2020, helping engineer one of MLB’s most consistent pipelines. His fingerprints are visible across the system, from the rise of Strider and Schwellenbach to the emergence of Smith-Shawver.
Before arriving in Atlanta, Davis worked for the St. Louis Cardinals as Minor League Pitching Coordinator and Manager of Pitching Analytics, then served as the Seattle Mariners’ pitching coach in 2019 before shifting to a strategic front-office role.
A legacy of innovation and development
Within the Braves organization, Davis became known as a data-driven innovator, blending biomechanics, pitch-tracking technology, and video analysis to refine pitchers’ mechanics. His progressive methods helped elevate Atlanta’s development reputation to one of the most respected in the league.
While Davis’s exit signals a philosophical shift in the Braves’ player development model, his impact endures. The club’s next hire will help define the future of an organization aiming to recover quickly from its first playoff miss in nearly a decade.
