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.
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
Rotowire
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
Rotowire
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
Rotowire
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
Rotowire
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: 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: Shifts to injured list
Rotowire
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.
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.
