Just over a week after agreeing to a minor league deal to return to the field with the Braves organization, veteran catcher Tyler Flowers has now changed course and decided to retire, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (via Twitter). Bowman notes that Flowers has spent the past few seasons playing through a pair of degenerative discs in his back and has learned from doctors that he’s now developed a third. That unfortunate diagnosis has prompted him to hang it up for good, it seems.
It’s a disheartening way to end what was a very fine big league career. Simply making it to the Majors after being a 33rd-round pick by the Braves back in 2005 is an accomplishment on its own, but Flowers went on to spend parts of a dozen seasons in the big leagues — all of which were spent with the White Sox or Braves.
Atlanta initially traded Flowers to the ChiSox as part of a package that sent Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan to Atlanta in Dec. 2008. Flowers would make his MLB debut the following season in 2009, and he spent parts of the next seven seasons as a backstop with the South Siders. His bat didn’t come around to the levels that the Sox had hoped when he was regarded as one of the organization’s top prospects, but Flowers’ defensive contributions were significant. Moreover, his top-of-the-scale ratings in the early days of pitch-framing metrics helped to shine a light on an element that is now widely accepted as a critical component of catcher defense.
That framing ability and a knack for hitting left-handed pitching no doubt contributed to the Braves’ interest when he reached free agency in the 2015-16 offseason. Flowers returned to his original organization on a two-year, $5.3MM deal with a third-year option, and he parlayed that into a pair of additional seasons donning a Braves uniform. His bat improved quite a bit in Atlanta, particularly in his first two seasons back with the club. While the degenerative condition in his back may have impacted him in his final years, Flowers’ framing remained sharp up through last year’s 60-game sprint — which will now prove to be his final season in the Majors.
All told, Flowers will retire as a career .237/.319/.391 hitter with 86 home runs, 111 doubles, five triples, 267 runs scored and 301 knocked in. He went 3-for-11 in limited postseason action with the Braves from 2018-20 and was part of three straight division winners in his final few years. Overall, Flowers took home more than $23MM in salary over a 12-year MLB career that was valued at 20 WAR by FanGraphs, largely on the strength of his work behind the plate.
Flowers had taken an off-field role with the Braves organization prior to re-signing that minor league deal, wherein he helped incorporate data from the club’s analytics department into game preparation. He’ll return to that role, Bowman notes, meaning the Georgia native will continue to try to help his hometown club achieve a fourth consecutive NL East crown and return to the World Series for the first time since 1999.
It is okay Tyler. We all know the true reason you retired.
Why be part of the mess again!
Just Stfu for once
It sounds to me he had more fun teaching then playing. Even though the back had to be a issue.
Covid has really escalated the way so called fans complete abandon and trash their team within a few games of the seaaon.
We’re over a month in. Hardly “a few games.”
Is it early yes, a few games in no. Teams still can turn it around or mess up but we also have seen a good look at teams
And my point was also there a month ago Dad
First it’s been 35 games, and we Still haven’t been over 500 once, soVery Disappointed in this team. Going in I had high Hopes for a 4 peat, but as we stand here onMay 14 I just Hope we win more than we lose. As this team is put together without the 7,8, and 9 inning closers we had last year in o Day,Greene and Melancon we Never lost a game if we led after 6 innings, we have Now lost 5 games because the Front Office went cheap on the Bullpen and overspent for Smyla who except for a stint last year has Never been a great pitcher,so Yes it’s time to Put up or go home for this time, because as a Fan of a teamI have Watched since 1974 I have Never been more Upset at the front office as I am this year. We were 1 game away from going to the World Series and Instead of going All in they Went Cheap so I don’t blame the players or Coaches I blame Alex
John Rocker still available
Didn’t they just bring back Shane Greene?
That would be so awesome
Everyone must know except me! Pray tell, what is the “true reason”?
Clown comment
@Ian, reading is fundamental.
Three degenerative disks in his back.
Oh, and the Braves are only 4 games out of first despite being decimated by injuries.
Don’t let facts get in the way of your opinion, though. You haven’t yet. No reason to start now.
Oof. What an unfortunate and grisly way to go out. He had a fantastic career though, wish him the best in his retirement.
Grisly? C’mon, man. They’re just degenerative discs. He can still function fine.
I’m not “horrified”, as the definition of grisly may suggest, but rather concerned.
While grisly may not be the correct term, 3 degenerated discs are nothing to be brushed off.
Human neurology is a strange place. Some people can have severe spinal injuries and feel nearly no pain. Others can have a single disc bulge and be in agony.
I don’t think it’s a fair characterization to say any individual can, or cannot, “function fine” with three damaged discs.
The fact he saw fit to retire indicates otherwise.
Heck, I have more degenerative discs than that, plus spinal stenosis in my cervical and lumbar regions, and the same with herniated discs, yet I function fine.
He’s an athlete, in much better shape than me. He’ll be just fine.
@sufferforthetribe gasoxfan has a valid point my mom has 4 herniated discs in her neck and can barely pick up a gallon of milk. people like you are the exception with bad spine problems (also i’m glad you can function normally spine problems is something i wish on no one). i also see a lot of guys in my trade (carpenters) hobbling around because of the same issues and only way they make it though the day is by eating pain killers and because of the nature of the job most of us are in good shape.
also ty good luck in whatever you decide to do next you had a nice career to bad it has to end this way.
My mother has a terrible spine issue, so I know how it feels to have to deal with something like this. Hopefully they can treat it early on because if they wait too long it could become untreatable. Good luck to Mr. Flowers, and I hope he can get through this safely.
Damn the Blue Jays must have really broke the Braves.
On a serious note though he carved out a long and successful career. Respect.
Luis Rivera (Blue Jays third base coach) broke the Braves.
He sent Randal Grichuk around third when it was obvious that he’d be thrown out, and Grichuk’s slide caused D’Arnaud’s serious injury. This injury pushed Jackson into duty, who then strained his hamstring.
The Braves were broken when they rushed to give Drew Smyly $11 million in November.
That’s a fair point
Bravo, nice career especially with my Sox.
This team really does need to win a World Series in the early part of this decade. I doubt it will be this year but if they haven’t won it all within the next three years then this rebuild can be considered a failure.
Agreed.
It’s not just about winning a World Series. Most people never win the equivalent of a World Series in their life. Does that mean they’re failures?
I believe that 48 was referring to the rebuild..not the entire organization. If you set the goal of a rebuild to win world series then yes not winning one is a failure. wasn’t calling anyone who didn’t “win the equivalent of a world series in their life” a failure …just stating that the rebuild was a failure
They are in the mix every year. Not winning the ultimate prize is in no way a failure. Again, most people do not reach their original goal in life. Almost no one does. The Braves rebuild has been a solid one. Fans just like to put down teams and athletes to make themselves feel better about their own shortcomings.
Not an abject failure – and I totally understand your point. But from a straight black and white perspective if the reason for the rebuild was to win world series and they don’t then they, by definition , failed. If the reason for the rebuild was to be ” in the hunt” and have realistic shot at winning the world series then no they did not fail. Depends on what the end game is.. or at least the perceived endgame by the fans. I didn’t read it as putting the team down ( or the players themselves) just a statement of fact.
@cey your point is spot on, imo rebuilds should be about establishing a solid winning team that gives you a chance for a oct ticket. atl has built a solid team with a nice balance of youth and vets and kept there finances in check to make moves at the deadline. finally it could always be worse if i was a atl fan i would rather have this team and fo than pit, col, and bal who are in constant rebuilds with no direction or hope.
I believe 3 years is too narrow a window. Braves rebuild, unlike the Cubs, Astros and maybe KC (I have to check on KC) focused on batters. Braves rebuild focused on pitchers. It takes longer for pitchers to develop for most part. We may not see the best of Anderson/Ynoa/Wilson in the next 3 years but we will have all 3 more than 3 years. I’m not counting Wright out yet but he does appear to be the lesser of that group. Fried will still be in the mix and Soroka may come back.
In 3 years, Braves rotation could be filled entirely with pitchers obtained through the rebuild.
On a different note, whether Braves win WS or not, Braves are a better team as a result of rebuild than they would have been on their course before rebuild, mainly because that team would not have had the pitchers I just named nor would it have had the cash to buy FA pitchers of similar quality.
Fair comment
Well the problem with the way people look at rebuilds is that they all focus on the tear down and not the rebuild part. The purpose of taking a team apart isn’t just getting old guys out and putting young guys in, it has to be about drafting well and then finding the proper complimentary pieces via trade or FA to support your core. When you look at teams that are successful that is how they achieve a winning team.
It would be nuts if they didn’t make *at least* one trip to the World Series with a core as good as they have with Acuna Jr., Freeman, Albies and their collection of talented, young arms in Soroka, Anderson, Fried, Wilson and Wright.
In a lot of ways, they’re almost like the National League White Sox with how talented they should be. I would love to see a World Series between the two teams, too.
Sorry to learn that his health drove his decision to retire. As a Braves fan, I enjoyed watching him play and believe he helped the pitching staff get the most out of their talent.
Get that man a standing desk while he works on the computer. Hopefully he will continue to be productive.
Two words: inversion table…
Great. This just means we’ll be seeing more a Mathis who is horrendous with the bat. What a showing yesterday 0-4 4ks
Sounds like he’s hit his prime.
Working for the Braves is a bloom on the rose of what has been a solid career for Flowers.
Oh man he has 9.148 service time, he almost made it. I’m sure he was hoping to catch on for the rest of the season and qualify.
The way Contreras is playing, I don’t see Flowers taking his place. I suppose it’s possible that he would have replaced Mathis, but I don’t see that as a major upgrade for Braves taking defense into consideration.
So, health issues might be the major reason for retirement but it’s not like a year in the minors was attractive either for a vet like Flowers.
He made lots of money compared to most citizens. He has had a lucky life so far and I wish him well.
See you in Cooperstown Tyler.
Tickets are $24.99
So are you going to also ask for him to pay for your flight & accommodations because he can afford it? You cover the continental b-fast? Pack your bags.
This would seem to explain why he got so little attention during the offseason. I’m glad that he has a meaningful way to stay involved with the game though.
I was wondering why nobody had picked him up when guys like Wellington Castillo were still being offered (minor-league) deals. He’s always been excellent behind the dish defensively and as a framer, plus usually good for about 14-15 homeruns per year and nice splits vs. lefties.
It’s a shame to see him go out like this. It was stupid of Rick Hahn to let him walk when we did and replace him with Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro (and then the following year Wellington Castillo… yikes!) Best wishes to Tyler and his family.
They still need a backup catcher. Full season with a 38 yr old backup isn’t gonna cut it.
Jonathan Lucroy
This actually stings…. He would have immediately upgraded our backup catching situation significantly on the offensive from. Not a huge impact overall for the team, but any time the team is overall better, you want it. Kinda like Ender out in CF right now. The way Pache is playing, Ender is an immediate upgrade. Not a big one, but the team is better with him out there today,
Future managers: Tyler Flowers and Stephen Vogt
Completely agree. Catchers have proven over the years that they can manage. Good luck to Flowers and I am glad he is still going to work for my Braves.
if not mangers at least good pitching coaches, some of the best pitching coaches are former catchers. (not saying they wouldn’t make great mangers)
86 homers as a 33rd round pick?? good career
Jeff Mathis gets to stick around awhile longer
If you believe the fWAR of 20.5 for Flowers, that’s 4.1 per 162 games. Not bad at all — 10th most since 2009 among catchers.
Flo will will still help with game planning and analytics. Agree, future manager. Mathis is good for depth. However, look what opposing mangers are doing. They would rather walk to batters to get to the 7,8,9 of the order. Mathis has the glove and game calling but we need something with the stick. 38 yr old back over a entire season until Travis gets back? No idea how he will respond when he does.
Tyler was likely heart broken when his home town team traded him to the Sox after they originally drafted him years ago. But he made it back to the Braves and as you can see from his stats was highly motivated again as a result. Nice career for Flowers and believe he will contribute to the Braves in the future.
Hope he enjoys retirement! Apparently his back was bothering him more this year then usual. Either that or he was as told Mathis will be the backup or something like that. Overall a solid career for FLO.
Local kid that went to school in Atlanta suburbs, does charity work in the area , hope he can have a long career in the front office – Go Titans !!!
Along with Flowers retiring, I was also surprised to read that Jeff Mathis still has a job. Catchers like Mathis who specialize in pitch-framing must be thanking the baseball Gods that a robo-K zone hasn’t been instituted.
There’s “big news”.
“Tyler Flowers…retires”.
Wake us all up when we are supposed to ‘care’ please.
Amazing…isnt it? That every time some .237 hitting Scrub “retires”…it is “news”. Lol.
What’s next? Andy Hassler FINALLY decides to “officially retire”?
Woo hoo! Hot news “hot off the wire”.
There wasn’t this much excitement since Junior Ortiz retired.
J…F…C! Ain’t nuttin like being the “beat reporter” on this “mega-hot story”.
“…It’s a disheartening way to end what was a very fine big league career…”
Yes sirree! “Very fine!”
Spanky Kirkpatrick and Jerry Goff would be proud.
Ummm boy.
Very fine.
.237 hitting backup catcher.
About as big a “WGIHFS” as ‘well, the undersecretary for the Ecumenical Basketweavers Association of Vermont Retired Today, due to carpal tunnel in the right wrist”.
.237 hitter…retired.
Big news there.
Nothing like a REAL journalist these days
@thebaldphoenix dude what are you getting at it sounds like you’re bashing a guy for having a good mlb career, no one on this post is saying he is a hof but that the guy played hard was pretty good at his trade and is forced out because of health not desire to play. i feel for ty because i see what he is going through in my trade (being a union carpenter) a lot of guys either retire because of the strain on the body or become hooked on opioids because they have the same problems that ty has and only way they can make it though a day is to eat handfuls of pk’s. ty tried to come back took a milb deal and his body said no more and there is no shame in that and i wish the best of luck in whatever ty decides to do next in his life.