Tyler Flowers is back but he will have a new running mate in 2019

."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Talking Chop User’s GuideTalking Chop PodcastAround the NL EastBaseball Analysis PrimerAtlanta Braves Spring Training Preview: CatchersNew Reggie Jackson Jersey ,35commentsTyler Flowers is back but he will have a new running mate in 2019. ESTShareTweetShareShareAtlanta Braves Spring Training Preview: CatchersSteve Mitchell-USA TODAY SportsThe catcher position has quietly been an area of strength for the Atlanta Braves over the last two seasons. The combination of Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki has provided a lot of value for a low cost. Atlanta ranked at the top of the league in fWAR for catchers in 2017 per FanGraphs and were in the top 10in 2018. However, the position will have a new look in 2019. Flowers elected to stick with the Braves agreeing to a one-year extension last August that also includes a club option for 2020. Suzuki on the other hand went looking for a multi-year offer and found one with the Washington Nationals who inked him to a two-year, $10 million contract this offseason. With Suzuki departing, the Braves shifted gears, bringing back Brian McCann on a one-year deal. There is not a lot of depth behind Flowers and McCann so this could be an area that Atlanta looks to shore up between now and Opening Day. Roster LocksTyler Flowers is entering his fourth season with Atlanta and has hit .261/.360/.411 with 28 home runs in 264 games in a Braves uniform. His value has gone beyond his offensive contributions as he has established himself as one of the best pitch framers in the league. Flowers has ranked in the Top 6 in Baseball Prospectus’ framing runs metric every season since 2016. He led all catchers in 2017 and was third last season trailing only Yasmani Grandal and Max Stassi. (Keep in mind, too, that Flowers has done this while being only a part-time player, and the framing runs metric is a counting stat.) Having a catcher like Flowers who is adept at framing could help ease the transition for many of Atlanta’s pitching prospects as they advance to the Major Leagues. Brian McCann last wore a Braves uniform back in 2013 before signing a free agent contract with the New York Yankees. He has spent the last two seasons with the Houston Astros. He checks all of the boxes when it comes to leadership both on and off the field. However, he was limited to just 63 games with the Astros in 2018 thanks in large part to a right knee injury which eventually required surgery. When he was in the lineup he struggled hitting just .212/.301/.339 with seven home runs. How much of that was the knee and how much of that was just wear and tear from a long catching career that began back in 2005? For better or worse, the Braves are going to find out. At one point, McCann was a ridiculously good framer, as he finished first in the league in framing runs in both 2008 and 2009 and in the top 10 all the way through 2013. However http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , he posted a negative framing mark for the first time in over decade last year, and has provided mediocre-or-worse framing in three of his last four seasons. Triple-A Depth Atlanta added Alex Jackson to the 40-man roster this offseason protecting him from the Rule-5 Draft. Jackson shifted back to catcher after the Braves acquired him back in 2017 from the Mariners. The reviews of his performance behind the plate are mixed but he has struggled at the dish as he has advanced through the higher levels. Jackson hit just .200/.282/.329 with five home runs in 64 games at Double-A in 2018 and saw his strikeout rate climb to 31 percent. He was promoted to Gwinnett in the second half where he hit .204/.296/.426 while posting a strikeout rate of 33.6 percent. Jackson has slid off many prospect lists and it remains to be seen where he fits into Atlanta’s plans long term. The Braves claimed Raffy Lopez off waivers from San Diego earlier this offseason in hopes he can provide a little organizational depth. Lopez appeared in 37 games for the Padres where he hit just .176/.265/.284 with three home runs. On the plus side, Lopez is considered an above-average framer, which might explain Atlanta’s interest in him for a depth role.Non-Roster inviteesAtlanta is also bringing three catchers to spring as non-roster invitees including prospect William Contreras who turned heads with his performance in 2018. Contreras is the younger brother of Cubs’ catcher Willson and could find himself cracking Top 100 lists with another good performance this season. Contreras hit .293/.360/.463 with 11 home runs in 82 games for Rome. He moved up to Florida late in the season and will likely begin the season there again. Also invited to camp were Carlos Martinez and Jonathan Morales. Martinez split last season between Rome and Mississippi and is a typical organizational catcher. Morales was drafted back in 2015 and spent last season between Double-A and Triple-A. He brings some defensive tools but little to no power. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When the time came for Rocco Baldelli to remove Jose Berrios from the game, the new manager of the Minnesota Twins clapped as he reached the mound and extended his right hand for a rare congratulatory shake with his ace-in-the-making.This opening day victory over Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians was clearly an occasion to celebrate.Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run double in the seventh inning , Berrios outdueled Kluber and the Twins gave Baldelli a win in his debut by beating the Indians 2-0 on Thursday to start the season.“Usually you get a fist bump or a ‘good job,’ and then you walk off of the mound, but this was opening day,” Berrios said through the team’s interpreter. “It’s a special day for all of us and the first game for him as a manager. It was emotional out there.”Berrios set a Twins opening day record with 10 strikeouts, with the 24-year-old right-hander picking up where he left off as an All-Star in 2018. The youngest opening day starter for the Twins since Brad Radke in 1996, Berrios allowed just two hits and one walk in 7 2/3 innings with his curveball in prime form. Then Taylor Rogers recorded the last four outs for the save, stretching his scoreless streak to 27 straight innings.“Jose’s effort out there today kind of speaks for itself. It deserved probably more than a handshake Yunel Escobar Jersey ,” Baldelli said. “Probably could have given him a little hug out there, and that probably wouldn’t have done the thing justice, either.”Kluber hardly deserved defeat, after retiring the first 14 batters he faced until Gonzalez drew a walk. Byron Buxton broke up the no-hit bid with a one-out double in the sixth. Then the Twins took the lead in the seventh solely with hits by new players, singles by Nelson Cruz and C.J. Cron and then the game-breaker by Gonzalez. Jonathan Schoop, the fourth member of the lineup making his Minnesota debut, even got hit by a pitch that inning.Gonzalez, the multi-position player who spent seven years with Houston and signed with Minnesota more than a week into spring training, hit a 0-1 changeup from Kluber that landed in left-center.“I threw a lot of good changeups throughout the day today, and that was really the first one that kind of floated on me,” Kluber said, “and unfortunately Martin Maldonado Jersey , it was in a bad spot.”The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner making his fifth straight opening day start, the first in club history to do that since Stan Coveleski in 1921, Kluber finished seven innings with only four hits allowed and 79 pitches. Gonzalez, who’s 10 for 22 with three walks in his career against Kluber, started for Miguel Sano at third base.“Probably the last guy you want hitting off Kluber is Marwin because he’s had so much success, and he rifled that one in the gap,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “That’s all it was.”MIDDLE MENThe AL Central champion Indians played without star shortstop Francisco Lindor and mainstay second baseman Jason Kipnis, both recovering from strained right calf muscles. Eric Stamets struck out twice in his major league debut, playing for Lindor. Recent addition and seventh-year veteran Brad Miller subbed for Kipnis and also struck out twice against Berrios until a two-out single in the eighth prompted his removal.FOR STARTERSThe start of the season produced all kinds of newness, beyond just Baldelli’s debut in the dugout. The Twins unveiled a new backdrop beyond center field, with 5,700 sea green juniper plants now serving as the batter’s eye . The Indians wore uniforms without the divisive Chief Wahoo logo on them for the first time in 70 years .The first-pitch temperature was 49 degrees for the first March opener at Target Field http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , where the Twins played their lid-lifter on April 5 last year at 37 degrees.TRAINER’S ROOMIndians: Lindor, who started the season on the injured list with a strained right calf and a sprained left ankle, was headed for a second opinion from Dr. Robert Anderson, an ankle and foot specialist in Green Bay, Wisconsin, who has worked extensively with NFL players.Twins: Sano, who will be out until at least early May while the severe cut near his right Achilles tendon heals, has joined the team and begun off-field workouts. Baseball activities and an eventual minor league rehab assignment will still be a couple of weeks away.UP NEXTAfter a day off, the series resumes on Saturday afternoon. The Indians will send RHP Trevor Bauer, coming off a career-best 2018 season with a 2.21 ERA that was the third best in the majors, to the mound. RHP Jake Odorizzi will start for the Twins.