It seems that marriage between the Milwaukee Brewers and Jonathan Lucroy is quickly coming to an end, and come August 1, Lucroy could be playing for a new team.
It’s becoming clear that there will be a new catcher for the Brewers by the end of the season with All-Star Jonathan Lucroy wanting out. Jon Heyman reported to todaysknuckleball.com that he is ready to move on. The piece showed the sense of urgency that Lucroy has in wanting to move on from Milwaukee if they could not win.
“I want to be competitive. I want to be on a team that is playing for a championship,” said Lucroy. “If that’s the Brewers, great. If not, not. It’s a tough situation.”
Unfortunately for both parties, it seems like it will be a tough situation. Milwaukee currently sits in fourth place in the NL Central with a 38-49 record. The 2016 Brewers are a bunch of junk-yard players that have been put together to simply get through a rebuilding phase. The only notable stars are Lucroy and a proven steroid user who’s having a bounce back season. Not to mention, Lucroy has made it known that there are no ongoing contract extension talks with his current team.
Jonathan Lucroy said today that there are no ongoing extension talks with the Brewers.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 11, 2016
It’s clear that in one of the toughest divisions in the MLB, the Brewers will not be competing for the playoffs this year or for the next few years to come. They should be in the mindset of trading their All-Stars in return for some prospects that can help grow their 10th best farm system according to Baseball Prospectus.
Lucroy is an extremely attractive player to many teams in need. One, he is the best catcher available on the market. Two, he has a very friendly contract, he’s making just over $4 million this year and has a Club option for 2017 before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2018. Three, Lucroy is just 30-years-old and is one of the most durable catchers in baseball. And four, among all MLB catchers this season, he ranks in the top-three in batting average (.304), OBP (.361), SLG (.491), hits (89), runs (42), and RBI’s (42).
For all these reasons listed above, a trade for Lucroy would be seen as a blockbuster trade, as he is valued as a top-five catcher in the league. Teams interested in him would need to either be willing to part ways with MLB talent or top-5 prospects to reel in the big catch that is Lucroy.
With that in mind, we look at some of the contenders who could potentially trade for Lucroy before the trade deadline. These five teams are all in a spot to make a run at the playoffs and all need either major help or at least an upgrade at the catcher position.
Next: Los Angeles Dodgers