Newly-anointed White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Friday catcher Tyler Flowers has a "small fracture" in his left hand and is unlikely to play in the Domincan Winter League, which runs through Dec. 21.
That means the catcher will miss out on the consistent at-bats he missed out on during the 2012 season at A.J. Pierzynski's backup.
Flowers hit .213.296.412 with seven home runs in 153 plate appearances last season, but without those regular at-bats, the organization still needs to figure out if the 27-year-old can be an everyday catcher.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
That will be one of the topics we talk about," Hahn said of the White Sox's organizational meetings in Arizona next week. "I think that Tyler, based on the history that weve had with him, will be a quality everyday catcher in the big leagues. Its tough for a kid, especially a young kid, to sort of have sporadic playing time as he did this past year and continue that development. So that will be one of the things we have to talk about.
"But defensively he certainly can handle the position. I think hes going to get on base and hit for power. So he can be a valuable and viable everyday catcher in the big leagues."
Hahn added he expects Flowers to be healthy and ready to go when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in February. Whether Flowers reports as the starter or backup, though, could be determined sooner rather than later.