The Braves have a 2-year deal in place with a guy who some think is the best framer in the Majors. Tyler Flowers was drafted in the 33rd round in 2005, and was a hot catching prospect with the Braves before he was dealt to the White Sox in the Javier Vasquez trade. The Roswell, Georgia native has had a good career so far in Chicago.
Over his 7 year career, Flowers has had a .223 average, 46 HRs, and 142 RBIs. As I mentioned before, Flowers is known for his high caliber defense and ability to frame pitches. Flowers has signed for a team friendly contract as well, $2 million in 2016, $3 million in 2017, and $4 million in 2018 with a $300k buyout. Flowers will be kept along during the rebuilding process to take some stress off of AJ Pierzynski. He will likely not become a trade chip, unless his numbers see a huge spike.
The interesting part of this process is seeing what happens to Christian Bethancourt. This will add 3 catchers to our roster, much like when we had Laird-Doumit-Gattis. Bethancourt’s defense is too sharp to move away from catcher, Flowers is there to take reps for AJ, and AJ has been a backstop his whole career. I guess the Braves are going to carry 3 catchers, unless Bethancourt is going to be traded before spring training.