The Braves’ catching duo has been in harm’s way quite a bit this season.
It is no real secret that Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki get hit by a lot of pitches. It seemed like Flowers got hit by a pitch once every game he played and has been hit by 24 pitches over the last two seasons combined.
Suzuki’s last HBP has caused a bit of an issue for the Braves not unlike earlier this season when he took a pitch off his hand. Kurt was struck in the back of his arm in last night’s game against the Pirates and had to leave the game. The X-ray and MRI came back negative, but he is going to need some time to get healthy again. As a result, the Braves made a roster move.
The #Braves today selected the contract of C Chris Stewart from Triple-A @GoStripers. In order to make room on the active roster, OF Michael Reed has been optioned to Gwinnett.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 22, 2018
One has to feel for Michael Reed as he has been called up to the majors a couple of times now without seeing much of any action on the field in the majors. However, Stewart isn’t likely to linger on the roster long so we could reasonably expect Reed to be back up with the big league squad soon.
As for Chris Stewart, he is a reasonable short-term backup behind Flowers who knows how to play the position reasonably well although his ability at the plate leaves something to be desired. Stewart has three hits in five games in the majors this year and is slashing .209/.287/.269 in 46 games in Gwinnett.