JULY 29: Both d’Arnaud and Flowers are active and will be in uniform tonight. They’ll be joined by recently claimed outfielder Scott Schebler. To make active roster space, the Braves optioned backstops Alex Jackson and William Contreras along with righty Chad Sobotka.
JULY 28: The Braves have opened the season without first- and second-string catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers, but it doesn’t seem as if either will be on the shelf for much longer. Manager Brian Snitker indicated Tuesday that the team could activate at least one of them before its game against the Rays on Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes.
Both d’Arnaud and Flowers have been shelved in the early stages of this season after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, though neither player has tested positive for the illness. Their absences have left the Braves with Alex Jackson and William Contreras behind the plate.
D’Arnaud was a key offseason pickup for the Braves, who signed him to a two-year, $16MM contract after he enjoyed one of his best seasons as a member of the Rays in 2019. The 31-year-old, once a premium prospect, saw injuries weigh him down all too often as a Met during his first several seasons in the league.
Flowers, 34, has been a reliable producer for the Braves dating back to 2016, having hit .254/.350/.412 (104 wRC+) across 1,301 plate appearances in their uniform. He is also known as one of the game’s premier pitch-framing backstops.
Man, this team is continuing to prove me right every day.
No starting pitching.
Overrated fake stars.
Celebrate division titles. Minimalists at their finest.
Glad these guys are back!!
Wish Flowers wouldn’t come back and Contreras stayed up there
Yeah I like Contreras a lot. He’s definitely major league defensively ready. Good bat also.
Best wishes to all of these guys who are contending with extremely difficult situations.
I had really mixed feelings when they brought on d’Arnuad and that hasn’t changed. The idea of actually counting on him to stay healthy is terrifying, especially if it means Flowers becomes the regular in his place. At the end of his contract are we going to have Mets fans asking why the Braves FO didn’t learn from them when they had all those years waiting for d’Arnuad to have a break out year?
I’m not a talent evaluator for the Braves so I have to trust that they saw and know something I don’t. I just don’t come by faith easily.
I agree, but the good news is it looks like we’ve found out Contreras is ready if d’Arnaud does get injured. Catcher is an extremely thin position at the higher levels, so most teams have someone with some warts as their primary backstop. Just hoping d’Arnaud/Contreras with some Flowers sprinkled in can hold us over the next couple years until Langeliers is ready.
dArnoud is at least decent defensively. Flowers tries to frame every pitch and ends up dropping fastballs right down the middle. Plus he has like the slowest arm in the game for throwing out baserunners
Flowers looked really slow and lazy behind the plate last season.
I am not really concerned what the Braves do in this 60 game shootout, with Hernandez choosing not to play, and Hamels hurt, I can’t see any post season hopes ahead. Freddie is probably still recovering from his severe illness. A 60 game season is definitely not a true test of anything. Whilst i’ll watch it still doesn’t have the authenticity of 162 games.
***’World Series Champions’.
Understand what you’re saying, but unless you have another Marlins-size outbreak, any team winning this should be commended for their persistence. With the expanded roster sizes and almost daily transactions, the front offices are more involved than ever trying to field a team. In that respect, franchises with depth at the upper levels should be most set-up, but ATL is one of those, and even their holes are starting to show already. Who would have thought for a team that’s been drafting/developing pitching as a priority for years is still starving for it – while having too many OFs. Almost comical. And no, adding a mediocre $85M SP wouldn’t help all that much.
Safely quarantined, just in case. Well done.