The Nationals have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Jonathan Lucroy, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter links).
Lucroy returned to the free agent market earlier this week when he asked to released from his previous minors deal with the White Sox, since Chicago wasn’t going to include him on the big league roster. The Cubs showed some interest during Lucroy’s brief second stint on the open market, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported earlier today that the Nats were considering the veteran backstop’s services.
A two-time All-Star in his heyday with the Brewers, Lucroy’s production has fallen off in recent years, as he has hit only .237/.297/.338 over 782 plate appearances with four different organizations since the start of the 2018 season. If Lucroy sees any time on Washington’s active roster, the Nats will become his eighth different franchise, and 2021 will be Lucroy’s 12th Major League season.
Yan Gomes and Alex Avila already provide the Nationals with a veteran tandem behind the plate, and Tres Barrera was also due to be called up before Washington’s season-opening series with the Mets was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Nats’ clubhouse. It’s possible Lucroy could be a replacement for Welington Castillo, who also sided a minor league deal with D.C. over the winter but was sidelined with a shoulder problem throughout Spring Training.
Looks like one of their catchers is positive
Positively
I’d be surprised if they signed him just for that reason. They did call up a young catcher after the first positive/tracing so obv a catcher is affected. Guess we shall see.
Remember when Lucroy made claim to being the best catcher in baseball? WRONG, although he did have several good seasons. He forgot about that guy in St. Louis.
You mean that tough guy wannabe in St Louis who spit on an umpire?
That’s the one. Unarguably the best catcher for over 12 seasons, even though he does have that drooling problem. He will join Roberto Alomar in the spitter’s section of the Hall of Fame.
Joe Mauer would like to know your location
Joe Mauer can’t carry Molina’s Jock. Best catcher in baseball for a 10 year period
Mauer’s a surefire hall of famer. Molina will be lucky to make the Cardinals HOF. Mauer has 15 more WAR, more 7-year peak WAR, and a better JAWS.
Molina is a good defensive catcher, but he’s too one sided to be number one. Come talk to me when Molina wins an MVP, hits .360, or leads the league in any statistic. I’ll be waiting.
I guess the floor will be slippery in that section.
Joe Mauer won three batting titles. That’s three more than Yadier Molina.
I kind of forgot about him, but Mauer was pretty much fulltime first base by the time Molina established himself.. Mauer’s days at catcher were definitely better offensively.
“Unarguably”. You can throw in Buster Posey into this mix as well.
Okay, arguably. I love this web site. Molina will be in the Hall, he turned into a very good hitter during the middle of his career, but the dude is one heckuva catcher.
Molina, Mauer, and Posey all belong in HOF….. I hope Lucroy gets a chance to come back, make an impact, and become a regular or backup… It wasn’t going to work out in Chicago with Yermin and Collins blocking him from 3rd catcher on depth chart
Lucroy hasn’t been good in three years. Good minor league pickup but why you think he’d have a sudden resurgence now, at this point, makes little sense to me.
i dunno ask Jose Iglesias. sometimes you get that one last hurrah from your body. Will Jose maintain his hitting with exceptional defense., most likely not but was a damn good half season for him.
Weird comparison as Iglesias has always been a poor hitter who’s valued on his fielding. Totally different than a player like Lucroy who was a good hitter but aged, declined, and hadn’t been good in three years. Totally different. Iglesias is what he’s always been, Lucroy is clearly at the end, a shell of himself. Players who have a resurgence at that point are extremely rare, if they even exist at all.
i would love to be a poor hitter that hit 353 and had an ops of +160
lucroy was a solid defender and a solid bat which is what made him so valuable but the bat fell off a cliff and is still a solid catcher and game caller. The problem is the bat is soooo bad it is not even good enough for a back up spot.
Lucroy has been on the verge of being a Nat for like 5 years. Finally happened.
Let’s see now how long he lasts…
Go Nats. Beat Atlanta and Metsies
So that’s why I was the last poster. Delete, delete, delete. Got it. Sad.
So couldn’t they have played the Saturday and Sunday games against the Mets without those 4 players? The rest of the team’s Covid testing would have come back before Saturday, no?
Cant wait for MarlinsFan to see this but if the Marlins had to play with 11 players down why doesnt the Nationals with 4? I guess MLB will be refunding opening day price tickets vs regular season tickets to mets fans for this?
Lucroy circuitously led to Yelich as a Brewer since the main prospect they got in the Lucroy deal was Brinson