Texas Rangers: Potential Jonathan Lucroy trade destinations
By Tim Boyle
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves in unfamiliar territory: Competing. They have kept pace with the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers all year long. Great pitching performances from Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray have solidified the rotation. Meanwhile, the offense led by Paul Goldschmidt has continued to produce regularly.
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One position the Diamondbacks lack at is catcher. Chris Iannetta and Jeff Mathis have shared these duties, but each has struggled offensively. Lucroy would certainly give them a boost and possibly even help out a sometimes inconsistent pitching staff.
The Diamondbacks’ trade deadline needs are not many. Other than a few small fixes and possibly upgrading at closer with a replacement for Fernando Rodney, they pretty much are what they are. The team roster is a relatively affordable one with many of its players on cheap contracts.
In an effort to make up for the poor 2016 campaign, it’s important the Diamondbacks do whatever they can to not waste this effort. A trade for Lucroy would help this as he has been one of the best overall catchers in baseball throughout his career.
The biggest deterrent in acquiring Lucroy might be the Diamondbacks’ lack of a phenomenal farm system. Arizona also has several players with MLB experience the Rangers could possibly choose instead of someone in the minor leagues. This would become a balancing act for the Diamondbacks as they will look to keep their positional depth.