Braves announce major changes to 2024 broadcast team

Originally posted on SportsTalkATL | By Chase Irle | Last updated 12/18/23

The Braves shook things up in the broadcast booth in a big way heading into last season. Longtime play-by-play announcer Chip Caray took the job in St.Louis and was replaced by Brandon Gaudin, who was joined primarily by Jeff Francoeur. The results, according to most fans, were overwhelmingly positive. Unfortunately, there will be changes again this season.

Jeff Francouer is taking on a smaller role as he aims to spend more time with his family. He’ll still appear in the booth from time to time, but he won’t be the primary broadcaster alongside Brandon Gaudin. That role now belongs to another former Braves player, C.J. Nitkowski.

When Jeff Francoeur told us he was planning to significantly reduce his workload this year, it felt odd. But it made perfect sense on the season’s final day, when his four kids burst in the booth and gave him a big hug. He’s looking forward to adding to dad duties. https://t.co/8uYAdBr7Tf

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 18, 2023

pic.twitter.com/V30F34gQar

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 18, 2023

Nitkowski is a former left-handed pitcher that played in the majors from 1995-2005, including the 2004 season with The Atlanta Braves.

Since retiring, he’s been involved in all sorts of media, most recently serving in the Texas Rangers broadcast booth since 2017. From those familiar with Nitkowski, they don’t expect there to be much of a drop-off in terms of the quality of the Braves broadcasts next season and beyond.

Looking forward to having CJ around. There are more than 45 reasons he and @BrandonGaudin will form a great partnership. CJ began prepping for his broadcasting gig by hanging out in Turner Field’s press box more than a decade ago. It will be great to talk ball with him again. https://t.co/A8XLNZuFRE

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 18, 2023

Losing Frenchy will be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of Braves fans. He was a fan favorite as a player when he came up with the Braves and became even more beloved as a member of the broadcast team. He’ll still be around, though, and it looks like the Braves got another good one in the building in C.J. Nitkowski.

This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission.

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