Nationals' Jesus Flores didn't know team had traded for another catcher

More than eight hours after the Nationals announced their trade for Kurt Suzuki, Washington starting catcher Jesus Flores found out he was being bumped from his starting spot by reporters.

By C. Trent Rosecrans

Aug 4, 2012 at 1:36 am ET • 1 min read

Jesus Flores is hitting just .221/.257/.319. (US Presswire)

The Nationals announced a trade for veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, about 90 minutes before a doubleheader with the Marlins. After two games and nearly eight hours, starting catcher Jesus Flores hadn't heard about the trade.

Instead of hearing from his manager about how his role would change with the acquisition of Suzuki, he was asked after the second game to comment on the move.

"Not at all. I don't even want to talk about it," Flores told reporters (via the Washington Post). "I'm just in shock. I didn't know we had a new catcher."

Flores took over the starting job in May when Wilson Ramos suffered a knee injury. Eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason, Flores is hitting .221/.257/.319 with three home runs this season. He's played in 66 games so far this season, his most since 2008.

At some point, Davey Johnson should have pulled Flores aside and told him what was happening, even if it was between games or even in the 10 minutes between the time the game ends and reporters are allowed in the clubhouse.

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