Flowers announced his retirement from professional baseball Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
The 35-year-old inked a minor-league deal with Atlanta last week, but he had an injury crop up while working his way back into game shape. Flowers battled two degenerative discs in his back the past couple seasons and developed another since attempting to resume his career. He spent 12 years in the majors between the White Sox and Atlanta and had a .237/.319/.391 slash line in 802 games.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Signs minor-league deal
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Flowers signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Thursday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Flowers played 22 games for Atlanta in 2020, and he'll now be on the taxi squad and play for Triple-A Gwinnett since the team is short on depth at catcher with Travis d'Arnaud (thumb) and Alex Jackson (hamstring) sidelined. Flowers slashed .217/.325/.348 with a home run and five RBI in the majors last year.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Returns to lineup
Rotowire
Flowers (elbow) is starting Saturday against the Nationals.
Flowers exited Thursday's game after being hit by a pitch above his left elbow and sat out Friday. However, he'll return to the lineup as the catcher Saturday while Travis d'Arnaud rests his legs as the designated hitter.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Exits after being hit by pitch
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Flowers was taken out of Thursday's game in the sixth inning as a precautionary measure after being hit by a pitch above his left elbow, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Travis d'Arnaud replaced Flowers at catcher. The Braves are not expecting to place Flowers on the injured list, though that could change if the pain worsens in the coming days. The backstop can be considered day-to-day for the time being.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Doubles twice in romp
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Flowers went 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and two RBI in Sunday's 10-3 win over the Nationals.
The pair of extra-base hits were Flowers' first since Aug. 22. Though Flowers owns a more-than-respectable .884 OPS on the season, playing time has been hard to come by for the 34-year-old, who is the clear No. 2 backstop behind Travis d'Arnaud. Flowers will bow out of the lineup for Monday's series opener versus Miami with d'Arnaud stepping back in behind the plate.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Hitless in last three starts
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Flowers has gone 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in his last three starts.
He'll remain on the bench for Wednesday's series finale in Boston, as Travis d'Arnaud gets the nod behind the dish. D'Arnaud has worked as the Braves' clear top catcher all season, and that's unlikely to change in light of Flowers' recent form at the plate.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Pops first homer
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Flowers went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 10-1 rout of the Blue Jays.
The veteran backstop took Matt Shoemaker deep in the second inning, one of three Atlanta blasts off the right-hander on the night. Flowers is off to a strong start at the plate in a limited sample, going 3-for-10 with a homer and a double in three games, but Travis d'Arnaud appears to hold the edge in playing time at catcher for now.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Cleared to return
Rotowire
Flower (illness) was activated from the injured list Wednesday.
Flowers and fellow catcher Travis d'Arnaud had been on the COVID-19 injured list since Opening Day, though both players were evidently dealing with ordinary illnesses as neither tested positive for the virus. Both are healthy now and back on the active roster, leaving them set to split catching duties going forward.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Participates in workout Tuesday
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Flowers (illness) felt good during a workout Tuesday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Flowers and Travis d'Arnaud (illness) remain on the injured list after exhibiting COVID-19-like symptoms over the weekend (though they both tested negative), and both players are taking part in workouts. Manager Brian Snitker indicated one of the catchers could rejoin the team as early as Wednesday, though he didn't specify which one was closer to being ready.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Shifts to injured list
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Flowers (illness) was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Friday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Flowers tested negative for the virus but is showing symptoms, so he didn't travel with the club for Opening Day. Travis d'Arnaud is unavailable due to the same circumstances, so Alex Jackson and William Contreras will be the Braves' options at catcher to open the season.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Unavailable for opener
Rotowire
Flowers has shown symptoms of COVID-19 and did not travel with the Braves for their season opener against the Mets on Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Both Flowers and fellow catcher Travis d'Arnaud have shown symptoms in recent days, though both tested negative for the virus. They'll remain back in Atlanta for Opening Day, with Alex Jackson expected to handle catching duties in their absence.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Limited reps this spring
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Flowers has seen action in only five spring games so far, going 2-for-10 with two doubles.
Atlanta brought the veteran catcher along slowly this spring to limit the wear and tear on his 34-year-old knees, but the suspension of Grapefruit League action but any plans to ramp up his activity level on hold for now. Flowers will split reps with Travis d'Arnaud behind the plate during the regular season, but he could be on the short end of that arrangement after failing to post an OPS above .732 in either of the last two campaigns.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Returning to Braves
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Flowers was signed to a one-year, $4 million contract by the Braves on Monday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
The 33-year-old's option on his contract was previously declined, but he will return to the Braves anyway, as the move appears to have been to move payroll around. Flowers hit .229/.319/.413 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI in 2019 as he split time at catcher with Brian McCann, and Flowers will likely take over as the primary catcher next season following McCann's retirement.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Smashes three-run home run
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Flowers went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in a 3-1 victory against the Phillies on Wednesday.
The Braves catcher supplied his team's only real offense of the night, but it was enough for the win. The 33-year-old is now one homer shy of his best total in four seasons with the Braves. He's batting .235 with 11 home runs, 34 RBI and 34 runs in 247 at-bats this season.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Back to No. 2 catching role
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Flowers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Flowers had been serving as the Braves' primary backstop for the past week and a half, but he now appears set to cede those duties to Brian McCann (knee), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Sunday. While McCann was idle, Flowers went 9-for-23 with three extra-base hits, six walks, eight runs and five RBI in nine games.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Smacks 10th homer
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Flowers went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a three-run homer and a second run scored in Friday's 10-7 win over the White Sox.
His second-inning blast off Ivan Nova gave Atlanta a lead it would never relinquish. Flowers hadn't gone yard since Aug. 4, and on the year he's slashing .236/.317/.429 with 10 homers and 26 RBI.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: SItting for series finale
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Flowers is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays.
Flowers has started two of the past four games behind the dish, with Francisco Cervelli, who is starting at catcher Wednesday, getting the nod in the other two. In 15 appearances since the start of August, Flowers is slashing .186/.271/.302.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Day off Monday
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Flowers is not in the lineup Monday against the Rockies.
Flowers was expected to be the Braves' primary catcher while Brian McCann battles a knee injury, but he's now sitting for the third time in four games. Francisco Cervelli gets the nod behind the plate for Monday's contest.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: Out of Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Flowers is not in Friday's lineup against the Mets.
Flowers is hitting .167 with one home run in 36 at-bats this month. Alex Jackson will start behind the dish and hit eighth.
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Braves' Tyler Flowers: New top catcher with McCann out
Rotowire
Flowers will start at catcher and bat seventh Wednesday against the Marlins.
The Braves likely always planned to have Flowers play Wednesday with southpaw Caleb Smith on the bump for Miami, but the backstop now stands to see steady work versus right-handed pitching as well after top catcher Brian McCann (knee) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Atlanta called up Alex Jackson from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move to add another option behind the plate, but the rookie probably won't be a serious threat to Flowers after managing a lowly .434 OPS in 11 games this month in the minors.
