The Nationals acquired catcher Kurt Suzuki from the Athletics yesterday in exchange for minor league catcher David Freitas. Suzuki is expected to take over the starting catcher gig from Jesus Flores, who has really struggled carrying the load since Wilson Ramos suffered a season-ending knee injury in May.
Flores was asked about the trade after yesterday’s doubleheader against the Marlins. And that’s when things got awkward. Per Amanda Comak of the Washington Times, Flores said he was unaware of the deal.“I didn’t know,” Flores said. “I just know because you told me. Nobody has told me anything.
“Nobody has say anything to me about it, so I’m just surprised.”
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” Flores said. “I’m just in shock. I didn’t know we had a new catcher.”That’s rough. Taking Flores at his word, the Nationals could have handled the situation better considering the trade happened before the doubleheader even started. Of course, Flores is batting just .221 with a .567 OPS and has thrown out just 10.2 percent (5-for-49) of attempted basestealers this season, so he shouldn’t be surprised that the Nationals were in the market for other options.