LOS ANGELES – The Braves released veteran left-handed reliever Eric O’Flaherty on Friday to open a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Anthony Recker, who was brought up from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill in for a few days while catcher Kurt Suzuki is on the bereavement list.
Suzuki hit a big two-run homer for the Braves in Thursday’s 6-3 win against the Dodgers, then left the team to attend his grandfather’s funeral this weekend in Hawaii, Suzuki’s home state. He’s expected to rejoin the Braves in Arizona for Monday’s series opener against the Diamondbacks.
O’Flaherty, 32, had a 7.85 ERA in 22 appearances and has been on the 10-day disabled list since June 11 with rotator-cuff tendinitis in his pitching shoulder.
Suzuki, 33, has four home runs during a season-high seven-game hitting streak and has five homers with 11 RBIs in his past 14 games. His home run Thursday accounted for the game-winning RBI, and 15 of his 27 RBIs this season have come via eight home runs.
“All his hits it seems like are (big),” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after Thursday’s game. “He’s come up with a lot of big hits and homers all year.”
Suzuki, batting .237 with an .813 OPS, has started 37 games at catcher this season while sharing duties at the position with Tyler Flowers, who had 56 starts at catcher before Friday and had a .293 batting average, .383 on-base percentage and seven home runs with 29 RBIs, giving the Braves one of the most productive catching tandems in the major leagues.
Recker, 33, made one start at catcher April 19 and was 1-for-7 in six early games for the Braves before he was sent to Triple-A. He’s hit .223 with four homers and a .683 OPS in 156 plate appearances with Gwinnett.
