Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy indicated today that he was rebuffed by the team when his representatives raised the possibility of a second extension last offseason, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. The 29-year-old first mentioned that “a little bit of talk earlier in Spring Training … really didn’t go anywhere” in an appearance on 105.7 The Fan (audio link).
Expanding upon those comments in a chat with McCalvy, Lucroy said that he came to the team with “a proposal that would have kept me here for the rest of my career, most likely.” After submitting the offer in January, said the veteran backstop, he was informed that the team was not “interested in doing anything at this point in time.” Lucroy is represented by Sports One Athlete Management.
Lucroy agreed previously to a five-year, $11MM extension that has turned into one of the game’s more valuable contractual assets for Milwaukee. Since putting pen to paper before the 2012 campaign, Lucroy has compiled a .291/.353/.455 slash with 46 home runs while contributing outstanding work behind the dish. Though he has been off to a slow start this season after missing time early on, he’s begun hitting again over the month of July.
Under the deal, which was struck when Lucroy was more a solid youngster than the outstanding player he’s become, Milwaukee can control its franchise backstop for two more seasons (through his age-31 campaign) for just $9.25MM. The last year of that contract, 2017, consists of a $5.25MM club option.
While many teams have doubled down on cheap early extensions to grab more control at attractive rates, it seems that the Brewers were pleased with their existing commitment. There are many possible reasons for that, of course, including Lucroy’s age and unknown contractual demands as well as the amount of time remaining to discuss another agreement.
Certainly, it would not be fair to assume that Milwaukee’s apparent lack of interest in another extension indicates any particular inclination towards dealing Lucroy. We’ve heard numerous reports suggesting that Milwaukee is not looking to move him despite its place in the standings, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweeted today that “multiple top prospects” would need to be offered for the team to even consider such a move.
Would be a good fit with the Mariners…
He’s still not going to go anywhere
The Brewers have no good catchers in their system after Lucroy. Any deal with the Mariners would probably have to include Marlette to catch, DJ Peterson to take over at 3B for us, and and pitching prospect or two.
Trade Him , while he still has Value, Another down year , Brew Crew get nothing ! Going to need more than him for rebuild!
No need to rush. They only owe Lucroy about $11 – $11.5 million (total) for the next 2 1/2 seasons.
The Brewers recently changed their “official” policy regarding negotiating contracts during spring training. They may even revisit this as soon as this season is over.
He has max trade value now. I’m honestly not sure they should extend him…likely won’t be cheap for an aging catcher
He probably does have max (or near maximum) trade value now. I do not disagree.
But if the team doesn’t get offered an insanely good package for him, keep him. He still has two full seasons of team control after the season is over. And while I have said I would demand basically everything a team has to offer in prospects for Lucroy, teams may hesitate at such a price to get him.
Plus, if it is true Lucroy is the one asking for the extension, his terms may not be all that unreasonable going forward. If the club’s official policy is not to discuss once spring training starts, they may talk after the offseason begins. May as well see what the player is thinking.
Worst case scenario? Lucroy falls off, but his contract right now is so team friendly the Brewers won’t be hurt at all if he ends up being nothing more than replacement level the next 2 1/2 seasons.
The reality is that the brewers are way further away from contention than they seem. Their system is basically dry. They have a window of two years where Lucroy and Gomez will still be a part of their team. They shot their major commitment bullet on Braun and now don’t have the space for these guys. They NEED to move every valuable piece while they still can bring in impact prospects. They also need to move their lesser, more productive players. This includes Lind, Parra, Fiers and Rodriquez. If they are willing to bite the bullet, then they could come away from this deadline as big winners.
I could see the brewers not wanting another Braun situation with an aging player stuck on a long contract, although Braun is starting to hit again. the brewers definitely need to make some trades and build the farm system if they want to compete again.