Brewers Rumors

Central Notes: Wong, Nathan, Ventura, Indians, Brewers

By Steve Adams | June 15, 2016 at 9:54am CDT

Demoted Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong has begun to play some center field with Triple-A Memphis as a means of expanding his versatility to the team, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes. Wong, who signed a five-year/$25.5MM extension back in March only to be optioned in June after struggling all season, has experience playing center field from his college days but hadn’t suited up there as a pro until Monday night. “”That’s kind of what our club is all about right now, being able to play multiple positions and give yourself a chance to help us in ways you may not see as obvious,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. “He’s got speed, instincts. All those put together really make him able to play almost anywhere.” The struggles of Randal Grichuk and regression from April star Jeremy Hazelbaker could lead to an opportunity for Wong in center field if his bat returns to form.

More from the game’s Central divisions…

Former All-Star Joe Nathan, who signed a minor league deal with the Cubs earlier this season, spoke to Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago about his recovery from a second Tommy John surgery and his eventual aspirations of pitching for the big league club. Nathan said he’s received encouraging feedback from the medical staff thus far and is on pace to pitch in a game on Friday of this week with three bullpens under his belt. Nathan tells Rogers that when he initially spoke to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, he made it clear that he was willing to pitch in any situation if he is ultimately able to work his way back to the Majors. “I basically told him I know how good your ballclub is with or without me,” said the 41-year-old Nathan. “I’m not here to try and disrupt anything. If you need me to throw in the sixth inning, seventh inning, I’m here for you. Whatever you want.” Nathan could begin a rehab assignment with Double-A later this month, Rogers adds.
There’s been plenty of talk as of late regarding Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura, with some reports indicating that he’s been offered to other teams in trades and another from MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan in which a team source called the notion “utter nonsense.” Rob Bradford of WEEI.com adds his hat to the mix, writing that as of Monday this week, a source close to the situation told him that Kansas City is not currently shopping Ventura. The Royals, according to Bradford, are reluctant to part with Ventura because of a lack of an immediate replacement for the 25-year-old and due to the friendly nature of his contract.
Indians president of baseball ops Chris Antonetti said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today (Twitter link) that top outfield prospects Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier have become options for him, though he hedged the statement somewhat, adding: “…whether that becomes the latter part of this year, we’ll see.” A recent report suggested that Frazier and Zimmer — the organization’s top two prospects — wouldn’t be options at the big league level this season even after Marlon Byrd was suspended for 162 games. Cleveland, however, is still without Michael Brantley (whose injury situation is the source of plenty of uncertainty) and has lost both Byrd and Abraham Almonte to PED suspensions. Zimmer, 23, was the 21st pick of the 2014 draft and is hitting .233/.359/.479 with 10 homers and 21 steals at Double-A Akron. Frazier, his Akron teammate, has been even more impressive; the No. 5 pick from the 2013 draft is hitting .308/.402/.500 on the season. Both were consensus Top 50 prospects entering the season.
Ryan Braun tells MLB.com’s Michael Wagaman that he’s aware of the trade rumors swirling around his name and has had conversations with Brewers GM David Stearns about the possibility of such a move. Braun says he has a “great relationship” with the team’s management. “As far as I know I don’t think that there’s anything that’s that close,” he adds. “But if it was up to me, if I was running an organization there would never be anybody that was off-limits. I would be open to anything, I would listen to any proposals anybody else has. Certainly they should be doing that with every player on our roster, as should every other team.”

Giants, Brewers Have Briefly Discussed Ryan Braun

By Steve Adams | June 14, 2016 at 7:39am CDT

JUNE 14: The Brewers and Giants have thus far had only one “minimal” discussion surrounding Braun, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal reminds that the Giants are one of six teams to which Braun cannot block a trade (along with the Angels, Dodgers, D-backs, Padres and Marlins, as Rosenthal initially reported back in March), but there are nonetheless obstacles to a deal. Chief among them is that Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is more concerned with ensuring that the Brewers receive premium talent than he is shedding a portion of Braun’s notable contract. The Giants’ farm system is considered below average in recent rankings from Baseball America (19th in baseball) and ESPN’s Keith Law (21st), so other teams may be able to offer a better package to meet those demands. Rosenthal also notes that the Giants will need to restock their bullpen after the ’16 season, and spending heavily on Braun limits their ability to do so by pushing them considerably closer to the luxury tax threshold (even with the aforementioned contracts coming off the books).

JUNE 13: With Hunter Pence on the disabled list due to a torn hamstring, the Giants are “looking everywhere” for another outfielder, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). To that end, they’ve had preliminary discussions with the Brewers about Ryan Braun, according to Nightengale, though he also cautions that there’s nothing imminent between the two teams.

Braun’s name has been mentioned frequently as a potential trade candidate — he sat at No. 3 on Jeff Todd’s most recent trade candidate rankings here at MLBTR — in large part because he’s having one of the most productive seasons of his career on a rebuilding Brewers club. The 32-year-old is batting .316/.378/.541 with 11 homers, 11 doubles and five stolen bases through his first 217 plate appearances this season.

That production aside, the common consensus surrounding the controversial slugger is that the Brewers would likely have to absorb some salary in order to move him. Braun is in the first season of a five-year, $105MM contract extension that was tacked onto his initial eight-year, $45MM deal back in 2011. He’s earning $19MM this season (with about $11.5MM remaining) and is owed a total of approximately $87.52MM through the end of the 2020 campaign. From a contractual standpoint, the Giants can likely afford Braun; Angel Pagan, Santiago Casilla, Gregor Blanco, Jake Peavy, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez are all free agents at season’s end, and the team has an extremely affordable arbitration class with only George Kontos ($1.15MM in 2016) and Cory Gearrin (pre-arb) looking at raises.

That massive extension for Braun (the largest in Brewers franchise history) came before his 2011 NL MVP Award and also before a messy PED scandal in which Braun accused a test collector of tampering with his urine sample before publicly admitting to steroid use more than a year later in the wake of the Biogenesis investigation.

While Braun certainly comes with some past baggage, he’s regained much of his production and hasn’t failed a test since serving a 65-game suspension to close out the 2013 season. With both Pence and Pagan on the disabled list, the Giants have been relying on a combination of Gregor Blanco and rookies Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson to flank Denard Span in the outfield corners. None of that trio, however, is enjoying a particularly productive 2016 campaign to date. Pagan has hit well when healthy enough to take the field, but he’s also spent three weeks on the DL with a hamstring injury and missed 10 days earlier this season with that same injury.

What remains unclear at this time, though, is the Giants’ sense of urgency in getting a deal done. Pence tweeted that he underwent his operation last Thursday, and the Giants may not want to make a drastic move until having a clearer picture of his ability to return to the field. Indeed, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (links to Twitter) that the Giants are hoping to hold down the fort until Pence’s return, making a more incremental trade likelier in the short-term. ESPN’s Jim Bowden discussed a Braun/Giants scenario earlier today as well (Insider subscription required), writing that it shouldn’t be a surprise if the Giants pursue Braun and linking prospects Tyler Beede and Christian Arroyo to the Brewers, though it’s not entirely clear if those names are mentioned in speculative fashion. Like Schulman, Bowden implies that a significant move for the Giants would happen at the deadline as opposed to seven weeks in advance, where we presently stand.

Central Notes: Stearns, Braun, Pirates, Burnett, Shaw

By Mark Polishuk | June 12, 2016 at 9:55pm CDT

Here are some news items from both the NL and AL Central…

In an interview with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link), Brewers GM David Stearns discussed that his team’s plan “at this stage [is to] acquire and develop the best young talent we possibly can,” and thus if teams come calling about Milwaukee’s young players, Stearns would want an “exceptionally high” return. Stearns, however, didn’t exactly say that this makes a veteran player like Jonathan Lucroy or Ryan Braun more likely to dealt. In fact, he noted that the possibility of trading Braun hasn’t been something that he’s had to seriously consider in his brief time as Milwaukee’s GM, and “there is no motivation for us to move…an elite-level player.” That said, Stearns did say he’d already talked to both Braun and Lucroy about the trade rumors circling around both men and said he’d keep them appraised of any developments should they arise. Stearns expects “active discussions” leading up to the trade deadline he said the Brewers “are in a situation where we need to be open-minded and we need to be open to any possibility.”
If the Cubs keep running away with the NL Central, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) feels the Pirates may focus on deadline acquisitions that can help them in 2017, as reaching the coin flip that is the Wild Card game isn’t worth giving up substantial talent for a short-term rental.
While the Pirates may have a need at catcher, both Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington felt John Jaso’s past concussion history ruled him out of consideration for work behind the plate, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Chris Stewart and the newly-acquired Erik Kratz look to handle the catching duties while Francisco Cervelli is on the disabled list.
It doesn’t appear that Sean Burnett will exercise his June 15 opt-out clause even he isn’t on the Twins’ Major League roster, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter). Burnett signed a minor league contract with Minnesota in May, his fourth minors deal with as many clubs since November following prior agreements with the Braves, Dodgers and Nationals. The veteran southpaw has a 2.66 ERA over 20 1/3 relief innings at Triple-A this season as he looks to return to the bigs for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014.
Bryan Shaw had another tough outing on Saturday, leading Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer to wonder if the Indians need to look for a more reliable setup man at the deadline. Shaw’s season has been a roller-coaster, going from a terrible April to lights-out in May and thus far shaky in June, all adding up to a 5.18 ERA, 9.25 K/9 and 3.33 BB/9 over 24 1/3 innings. Shaw’s main problem has been the long ball, as his whopping 2.2 HR/9 is more than triple his career average prior to this season.

Cafardo’s Latest: Brewers, Teheran, Kemp, Hudson

By Connor Byrne | June 12, 2016 at 4:45pm CDT

In regards to Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun’s potential availability this summer, one American League executive told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, “That’s the name I’m waiting for.” Braun is in the first season of a five-year, $105MM extension, and both the money he’s owed and his PED history are roadblocks standing in the way of a possible deal, reports Cafardo. The writer adds that the quality of return in a hypothetical Braun trade will come down to how much of his contract Milwaukee eats. The 32-year-old has dealt with injuries this season, but he has still slashed an outstanding .316/.378/.541 with 11 home runs through 217 plate appearances.

Twins Claim Neil Ramirez

By Connor Byrne | June 12, 2016 at 1:11pm CDT

The Twins have claimed right-handed reliever Neil Ramirez off waivers from the Brewers and transferred Phil Hughes (knee) to the 60-day DL, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press was among those to report (Twitter links).

Ramirez, 27, threw just 1 2/3 innings during his brief stint with the Brewers, who claimed him off waivers from the Cubs on May 31. In his time with those two teams this season, Ramirez yielded a combined six earned runs, three home runs and eight walks in 9 1/3 innings. The former 44th overall pick isn’t far removed from major league success, however. As a member of the Cubs from 2014-15, Ramirez totaled 57 2/3 frames of 1.87 ERA pitching, also posting an excellent 10.6 K/9 and a decent 3.6 BB/9 along the way. Ramirez has dealt with multiple injuries, though, and his fastball velocity has dropped as a result. He’ll now join a Twins bullpen that ranks fourth from the bottom in ERA (4.61), although the unit has the league’s fifth-best K/BB ratio (3.18).

Ramirez entered the season with 1.158 years of major league service time, meaning he comes with four more years of control. That also makes him a likely Super Two candidate this winter.

Brewers Demote Wily Peralta To Minors

By Connor Byrne | June 12, 2016 at 11:27am CDT

11:27am: Garza will indeed take Peralta’s place, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

10:54am: The Brewers have optioned Opening Day starter Wily Peralta to Triple-A Colorado Springs, per a team announcement. There’s no official word on a replacement, though fellow veteran right-hander Matt Garza could be the choice on the heels of making his final rehab start earlier this week. Garza hasn’t yet pitched for the Brewers this year because of a back injury.

Peralta took the hill for the Brewers in their 7-4 win over the Mets on Saturday, striking out four batters and surrendering three earned runs on five hits and a walk in five innings. Given the way Peralta has performed in 2016, that so-so outing counts as one of his best of the year. The highlight of his day came as a hitter, believe it or not, as he clubbed a 429-foot home run off Mets starter Logan Verrett.

In 66 frames prior to today’s demotion, Peralta pitched to an unsightly 6.68 ERA – the worst mark among the majors’ qualified starters – with 42 strikeouts and 27 walks. His K/BB ratio sits at 1.56, which puts him ahead of just eight other starters.The wheels began falling off last year for Peralta, who struck out a meager 4.97 hitters per nine innings and recorded a 4.72 ERA in 108 2/3 frames. He was a more reliable option the previous two years, combining for a 3.93 ERA, 6.67 K/9 and 3.16 BB/9 across 64 starts and 382 innings. At his best, Peralta logged a 3.53 ERA, 6.98 K/9 and 2.76 BB/9 in 198 1/3 innings just two seasons ago.

Peralta, 27, is on a $2.8MM salary this year and is slated to make two more trips through arbitration, though it’s possible the Brewers will simply non-tender him at season’s end.

Quick Hits: Lucroy, Mets, Darvish, Pads, D-backs

By Connor Byrne | June 11, 2016 at 11:03pm CDT

Given his performance and team-friendly contract, catcher Jonathan Lucroy could be the most sought-after player available at this year’s trade deadline if the Brewers shop him. The playoff-contending Mets are one of several clubs he seems like a fit for, as their catchers entered Saturday with a horrible .191/.289/.275 batting line and three home runs on the year (Lucroy is at .304/.364/.512 with nine HRs). However, there are roadblocks in the way of a potential deal, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. For one, the Mets don’t seem ready to give up on 27-year-old Travis d’Arnaud as their long-term solution behind the plate. Although d’Arnaud has an extensive history of maladies (he’s currently working his way back from a strained right rotator cuff) and got off to a poor start before suffering his latest injury in April, the former top prospect was quite valuable to the Mets over the previous two seasons. Additionally, the Mets might not have the prospects to win a Lucroy bidding war, per Davidoff, who notes that the team’s best young talent is already playing an important role in the majors. Lucroy, for what it’s worth, told Davidoff that he’s “not really a big city guy.”

Here’s more from around the majors:

In troubling news, the Rangers have scratched ace Yu Darvish from his Monday start because of tightness in his neck and throwing shoulder, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Darvish will next head back to Dallas for an MRI, according to Grant. “I don’t want to push it and make it worse. It’s a precaution. We hope it’s nothing serious and that I can be back soon,” said Darvish (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). After missing all of last season on account of Tommy John surgery, the star right-hander returned May 28 and made three starts before getting hurt again. If Darvish is seriously hurt, it will be a major blow to the first-place Rangers and could lead them to aggressively pursue pitching help as the trade deadline nears.
The rebuilding Padres plan to spend “every penny” of their $12.74MM in bonus pool money for this year’s draft, stated general manager A.J. Preller (Twitter link via MadFriars). “We view it as an opportunity,” he continued. The Padres, who selected Stanford righty Cal Quantrill with their top pick (No. 8), have the third-highest spending allotment available. In addition to Quantrill, the team used first-rounders on high school shortstop Hudson Sanchez (24th overall) and Kent State southpaw Eric Lauer (25th).
Earlier today, the Diamondbacks placed center fielder Chris Owings on the disabled list (retroactive to June 6) with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, per Jake Ril of MLB.com. Owings previously dealt with plantar fasciitis in both feet in 2010 and played just 62 games that year, notes Ril. The 24-year-old compiled a roughly league-average batting line of .285/.340/.419 in 196 plate appearances before leaving the Diamondbacks’ June 5 game with soreness in his foot. In his absence, the D-backs will use Michael Bourn and David Peralta in center.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Lucroy, Rays, Cubs, Nats, Reyes

By Connor Byrne | June 11, 2016 at 8:05pm CDT

Although the catcher-needy Rays covet Brewers backstop Jonathan Lucroy, their aversion to trading prospects makes them unlikely to acquire the 29-year-old if Milwaukee shops him, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (video link). The Cubs, like the Rays, are also a poor bet to land Lucroy. Chicago inquired about Lucroy’s availability during the offseason and even explored the idea of involving a third club to help make a trade happen with the division-rival Brewers, says Rosenthal, who adds that talks didn’t get serious then and probably won’t around the deadline. As Rosenthal notes, the Cubs have $14MM catcher Miguel Montero at the major league level, and highly regarded prospect Willson Contereras is laying waste to Triple-A pitching.

Even if the Rays and Cubs aren’t in the running to pick up Lucroy, there should still be plenty of suitors for him, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk detailed Friday.

Looking For A Match In A Jonathan Lucroy Trade

By Mark Polishuk | June 10, 2016 at 11:15pm CDT

2015 was essentially a lost season for Jonathan Lucroy. The Brewers catcher was limited to 103 games thanks to a concussion and a fractured toe, and he posted his worst numbers in four seasons by hitting only .264/.326/.391 with seven homers over 415 plate appearances. Down year notwithstanding, it’s still quite possible that had Lucroy could be wearing a different uniform today had he stayed healthy — the former All-Star garnered some trade buzz last winter as rivals teams looked to buy low. Brewers GM David Stearns didn’t pull the trigger on a deal, which looks like a shrewd decision given how Lucroy has thoroughly rebuilt his value.

Lucroy has been nothing less than baseball’s best all-around catcher in 2016. In addition to hitting .304/.361/.515 with nine home runs through 227 PA, Lucroy is also posting above-average pitch-framing numbers and has thrown out 24 of 32 runners trying to steal. Since fWAR doesn’t include framing value, there’s an argument that Lucroy has been even more valuable than his already-impressive 2.1 fWAR, which leads all qualified catchers by a healthy margin and ranks him within the top 30 of all players.

If that output wasn’t enough, Lucroy is also on one of the game’s most team-friendly contracts. He has roughly $2.7MM still owed to him in salary for this season, and he is controllable through 2017 on a $5.25MM club option (with a $250K buyout, though the option is a no-brainer to be exercised). Between the superstar production and the small salary commitment, it’s no surprise that Jeff Todd placed Lucroy atop both installments of the MLBTR Top 10 Trade Candidates rankings.

One wrinkle to Lucroy’s trade candidacy is his partial no-trade clause, which allows him to block deals to eight teams each season. Lucroy quite openly discussed his desire to play for a winning team during an interview in January, so it doesn’t seem like he’d stand in the way of a move to a contender, though he could obviously ask for some financial incentive to waive his clause if Milwaukee worked out a deal with one of those eight teams. The Nationals are the only team known to be on Lucroy’s list and while D.C. has shown interest in Lucroy in the past, they have no need for a catcher upgrade thanks to Wilson Ramos’ huge season.

So if not Washington, who else could be Lucroy’s new team? We can probably eliminate these teams since they’re either rebuilding, out of the race or are already set at catcher: Athletics, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Marlins, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Twins.

As I mentioned earlier, Lucroy (who turns 30 on Monday next week) won’t come at a big payroll cost, but the Brewers will surely ask for multiple blue-chip prospects and/or MLB-ready young players in return. This type of price tag definitely narrows the field, as some teams simply may not have the young talent to meet Milwaukee’s demands. Teams like the Angels, Mariners, Tigers and White Sox could all use a catcher upgrade but are hamstrung by thin farm systems.

The Mets’ farm system is more highly-regarded than the aforementioned teams, though they might well have to offer one of the young starters in their current rotation to get Milwaukee’s attention in a Lucroy trade. (Given the questionable health of Travis d’Arnaud and Lucas Duda, Lucroy would give the Mets a much-needed bat at catcher or first.) The Phillies can probably also be counted out, as while it’s fun to imagine them pausing their rebuild plans to capitalize on their surprising proximity to the wild card race, it’s probably unlikely that Philadelphia will trade some of the young talent it has amassed over the last year-plus.

The Indians have Yan Gomes locked up on a contract extension that could run through the 2021 season, though Gomes has been hampered by both injuries and inconsistency over the last two years, making him a weak link on a Cleveland team challenging for the AL Central. If you really look outside the box, you could conceive of a scenario where Cleveland offers two of their “untouchable” prospects in Clint Frazier, Bradley Zimmer or Bobby Bradley for Lucroy, then either trades Gomes in the offseason or uses Lucroy at first in 2017. (Gomes could also go to the Brewers in a Lucroy trade.) I would think it’s much more likely, however, that the Tribe focuses on outfield help at the deadline.

The Yankees don’t stand out as an obvious Lucroy landing spot given Brian McCann’s presence, though if Mark Teixeira’s knee injury ends up requiring season-ending surgery, Lucroy and McCann could split time between catcher and first base. (This timeshare could continue into 2017 if Teixeira leaves in free agency, or the Yankees could look to deal Lucroy or McCann in the offseason.) Lucroy’s bat would be a huge boost to a Yankees team that is hanging around the race despite a severe lack of offense. On the flip side, New York’s farm system is also not very deep, and GM Brian Cashman has thus far resisted trade offers for young pieces like Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Jorge Mateo or Gary Sanchez.

The Cubs have the prospect depth to get involved in any trade market, though they don’t have a pressing need at catcher. Chicago ranks ninth among all teams in cumulative catcher bWAR for the season, as Miguel Montero and David Ross have both been very good defensively if below-average at the plate. Montero’s hitting may well pick up as he fully recovers from some back issues, though given how well the Cubs’ catching tandem is fielding the position and handing their spectacular rotation, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer could easily stand pat at catcher. Plus, top prospect Willson Contreras is raking at Triple-A.

The Astros and Rays are in similar positions as teams with a clear need at catcher and some good young talent to offer, yet their biggest issue at the moment is just getting to .500. Even if a pennant run this season is questionable, either club could acquire Lucroy with an eye towards contending again in 2017. Houston asked about Lucroy last winter, and though Jason Castro’s minor revival at the plate has somewhat lessened the Astros’ need at catcher, Lucroy is obviously still a big upgrade. The Astros could also use Lucroy at first base in case top prospect A.J. Reed isn’t quite ready for the bigs. Tampa Bay may not be so eager to deal from its vaunted pitching depth given how Chris Archer, Matt Moore and Drew Smyly have all had their ups and downs this year, though Lucroy would definitively solve the Rays’ longstanding catcher problem.

The Rangers have been linked to Lucroy in trade rumors for months, yet recent reports suggest Texas may instead focus on pitching upgrades at the deadline. Robinson Chirinos has just been activated from the DL, plus the Bryan Holaday/Bobby Wilson combo has performed very well in Chirinos’ almost season-long absence. If Texas was interested in Lucroy over mostly this same catching corps last winter, however, they’re probably still interested in him now. The Rangers have as much young talent at both the major and minor league levels as anyone, and they’re one of the few clubs that could put together a package of four or even five young players without cleaning out their system.

The Red Sox could deal from their own minor league surplus to address their catching situation, as Christian Vazquez has been an excellent defender but a sub-replacement level hitter thus far in his MLB career. Boston’s catching depth has been thinned by Ryan Hanigan and Blake Swihart both hitting the DL, and Swihart had already been moved to left field due to defensive concerns. The Sox are another team that could acquire Lucroy and shift him to first next season if they want to give Vazquez another chance to catch, as Hanley Ramirez will get most of the DH duties once David Ortiz retires. It’s also possible Vazquez himself could be sent to Milwaukee as part of the Lucroy trade package, though clearly not as the headliner — the Brewers would demand at least one (or even two) of Yoan Moncada, Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers or Anderson Espinoza.

Catcher is not a deep position around the game, and Lucroy’s market could still develop quite a bit more before the trade deadline if a contender suffers an injury to its starting backstop. Lucroy’s ability to play first base also allows for some positional creativity for teams looking to jump into his market (as I noted earlier in a few examples). It’s possible the Brewers themselves could look to capitalize Lucroy’s high trade value by packaging him in a deal with Ryan Braun, who’s also hitting well but who is a tougher sell due to his pricey contract, injury history and PED baggage. There aren’t many teams who would be willing or able to absorb all of Braun’s deal, though pairing him with Lucroy would be a creative way for Stearns to clear Milwaukee’s biggest future payroll commitment.

All things considered, Lucroy is probably the most fascinating trade candidate to watch leading up to the deadline. It’s not often that a catcher is the centerpiece of the summer trade season, yet Lucroy is the perfect storm of a star catcher with a very reasonable contract who’s playing for a rebuilding club.

Photo courtesy of Steve Mitchell/USA Today Sports Images

Heyman’s Latest: D-Backs, Villar, Mets, Yanks, Gibbons, Ramos

By Jeff Todd | June 9, 2016 at 11:09pm CDT

Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart tells Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com that the organization is “not giving up” despite a dismal start to the year. He did acknowledge that “the signs are not real good right now,” though. And in suggesting that the team thinks there’s a chance A.J. Pollock could return by September, Stewart added, somewhat ominously: “Hopefully, we’re still in it.”

Here are some more notes from the column:

When asked whether the Brewers would consider dealing shortstop Jonathan Villar this summer, GM David Stearns suggested it would be unlikely. “We are looking to acquire players like that,” he said. It’s been quite a turnaround for the 25-year-old since he followed Stearns from the Astros to Milwaukee. Over 250 plate appearances, Villar owns a .306/.405/.450 batting line with a league-leading 22 steals. Better still, he’ll likely fall shy of Super Two status next year, so there’s plenty of cheap control remaining.
The Mets haven’t tried to open extension talks with either Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom, per Heyman. It seems the same holds true of Matt Harvey, who is further ahead in service time, with a source telling Heyman that the star righty is highly unlikely to be retained past his arb eligibility. It is a bit surprising to learn, though, that the team hasn’t at least looked into whether there might be a bargain to be had amongst the pre-arb righties — deGrom in particular, since he is somewhat older and might be more willing to settle for a team-friendly rate.
The Yankees, meanwhile, won’t sell in the near-term, but will reconsider in the run-up to the trade period. That’s not surprising to hear; the team is, after all, still treading water in the division.
While the Blue Jays don’t have any inclination to part with John Gibbons at present, Heyman suggests it’s unlikely he’ll be retained past the present season. A “huge year” could change that, though.
The Nationals dabbled with the idea of upgrading over Wilson Ramos over the winter, but decided against it — or, at least didn’t find a deal to their liking. That’s turned out to be wise in retrospect, as the big Venezuelan is off to a notable start at the plate: .345/.392/.554 with eight home runs and just 21 walks against 13 strikeouts over 181 plate appearances. The pending free agent remains an interesting player to watch the rest of the way.

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