The Braves re-signed veteran catcher Tyler Flowers to a minor-league deal, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to the AJC on Thursday. The team hasn’t announced the move.
Flowers, 35, played for the Braves from 2016-20. He appeared in 371 games, hitting .251/.349/.408 over that stretch. Flowers is renowned for his pitch framing, game planning and leadership. A Roswell native, this would be Flowers’ 13th major-league season if he’s eventually promoted.
It’s a logical move for the Braves, who lost starting backstop Travis d’Arnaud for at least two months because of a left-thumb injury. The team currently is starting rookie William Contreras, who’s performed well in three games, with 38-year-old Jeff Mathis behind him. Another catcher, Alex Jackson, is on the injured list and struggled mightily on offense when playing. While the Braves have enviable young catching depth in their system, they don’t have major-league ready contributors. Enter Flowers, who provides them a familiar insurance policy.
Flowers will get himself back into game shape, begin playing in Triple-A and be available for the major-league team if needed. Flowers, who didn’t sign with a team over the winter, was working with the organization’s analytics department behind the scenes. Now, it’s quite possible he’ll experience part of a sixth season on the field with the team.
The signing was first reported by MiLB-Transactions (@tombaseball29) on Twitter.
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