Injuries have plagued the Braves this season.
On Friday, the Braves added another player to their long injury list as catcher Tyler Flowers was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left hand fracture. He is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with the injury.
Flowers suffered the hand fracture on July 10 against the Chicago White Sox. The injury occurred when he was at the plate in the second inning. He checked his swing and felt some discomfort that caused him to not come back out to catch the third inning.
Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski replaced him behind the plate and now moves into the primary catcher role with the injury. The Braves also recalled Anthony Recker from Triple-A Gwinnett to serve as the backup catcher.
“Tyler did such a great job with those guys and was exactly what we needed right there,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “With him and A.J., we were getting a lot out of both of them. Again, that kind of hurts. Hopefully he (Recker) will be able to fill that role.”
Recker has some major league experience as he has spent parts of five seasons with the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics and the Chicago Cubs. The Braves acquired him in a trade with the Cleveland Indians on May 9. He hit .244 with eight home runs and had 28 RBIs in 59 games with Gwinnett.
Snitker says the Braves were fortunate to get him early in the season. He had him in Gwinnett and is eager to see him again in Atlanta.
“I had him a little bit and he played a handful of games,” he said. “I saw him when I was the third base coach and he was a backup for the Mets. So I saw him a few times and when he played against us in Columbus. He is a veteran guy that has backed up before and has major league time.”
The Braves have wasted no time getting Recker up to speed. He was in the bullpen working with several pitchers to learn their delivery and throwing motion. Snitker says that he could start on Sunday, with the plan to get him acclimated quickly.
“We will see how it works out as I don’t have any predetermined rotation,” Snitker said. “A.J. (Pierzynski) will probably catch today and tomorrow and Anthony (Recker) on Sunday. That is probably what we are looking at right now and we just kind of want to keep both going. I think it is enough work for two guys in that situation.”
Recker will wear No. 20 with the Braves and could play in his first MLB game since September 2015. In his career, he has a .180 batting average, 16 home runs and 55 RBIs.
