Atlanta Braves: Realmuto Off the Board — What to Expect from Flowers, McCann

Now that we can officially cross J.T. Realmuto off the wish list for the Atlanta Braves, we look at what to expect from Brian McCann and Tyler Flowers.

The Atlanta Braves were tied to J.T. Realmuto all offseason, but I don’t think talks were ever that serious.

Right or wrong, the Marlins wanted a king’s ransom for the possibly the best catcher in baseball. I thought they were off their rocker with that asking price, and I think they ultimately settled for a decent offer from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Probably no one in the world took a bigger sigh of relief on Thursday than Tyler Flowers. Many thought that if the Braves did trade for Realmuto that Flowers would be the odd man out.

He and Brian McCann now know they are going to share catching duties going into the 2019 season, so what can we expect?

Baseball Reference projects Flowers to hit .250 this year with 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 332 at-bats. After watching him struggle in 2018 with a .227 average, I would be ecstatic to get that type of offensive production from him.

McCann is projected to hit .230 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI in 305 at-bats.

Combined, the two are projected to hit around .240 with 24 home runs and 86 RBI.

I think a lot of teams would love to get that kind of production out of their catcher(s).

By comparison, Realmuto hit .277 last year with 21 home runs and 74 RBI in 477 at-bats.

Both Flowers and McCann are considered great game callers. And Flowers has pretty good metrics behind the plate.

Unfortunately, I use my eyes instead of numbers to evaluate players, and I’m not a big fan of either of them behind the plate.

I can only watch Tyler Flowers drop so many balls trying to frame them. Catch the ball first!

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Flowers just turned 33 and McCann will be 35 on February 20. I’m not thrilled about having two guys behind the plate who are past their prime.

The one positive for McCann is that he has that short porch in right field to help boost his power numbers. It’s not quite Yankee Stadium, but he did hit 26 home runs in his last season playing there.

I thought the Atlanta Braves should have made a stronger push for Realmuto because I’m not thrilled with the combination of Flowers and McCann.

At the same time, I thought the Marlins asking price was ridiculous and I’m glad the Braves didn’t meet their demands.

If Flowers and McCann meet their projections, then I’ll be happy. But I also hope the Braves bring in some depth at the minor league level before Opening Day.