Free agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy has turned down a few minor-league offers in hopes of landing an MLB opportunity, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). The 34-year-old has been on the open market since electing free agency after he was outrighted off the Nationals’ roster last week.
Lucroy is obviously far removed from his days as one of the sport’s premier backstops, having struggled to a .248/.315/.350 line with declining defensive metrics between 2017-19. He only played in one game for the Red Sox last season and unsurprisingly had to settle for a non-roster invitation to Spring Training with the White Sox over the winter.
The veteran backstop performed well this spring, but Chicago turned to younger options to back up Yasmani Grandal. Lucroy hit the open market and signed with the Nationals, who were down their presumptive catching tandem of Yan Gomes and Alex Avila due to COVID-19 spread within the organization. He made the Opening Day roster and played in five games, going 5-14 with a double and two strikeouts. Shortly after Gomes and Avila cleared health and safety protocols, though, Washington designated Lucroy for assignment.
The veteran cleared waivers and again hit free agency, but Nationals manager Dave Martinez expressed interest in bringing him back (presumably on a minor-league deal). It seems Lucroy and his representatives at Excel Sports Management remain willing to hold out for a more direct path back to the majors for now.
Murray suggests the Yankees, Blue Jays and Athletics as potential fits for Lucroy, although it’s unclear if any of those clubs have expressed interest. New York only has two catchers on the 40-man roster but current backup Kyle Higashioka is off to an incredible start to the season. Toronto is in the opposite situation. The Jays have four catchers on the 40-man, but their current big league options (Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen) haven’t played well early on. The A’s have a pair of 40-man options (Austin Allen and the struggling Aramís García) who could back up starter Sean Murphy. Lucroy spent the 2018 season with Oakland.
He’s toast
I mean yeah kinda but are there really 60 catchers (2 per team) you would rather have than him on a major league roster rn? I don’t think we have hit that point yet
I for one will always appreciate his contributions in a Red Sox uniform.
Last year he came into a game in the 8th inning and had to work with a nervous rookie pitcher making his Red Sox debut, trying to preserve a lead that had been slipping away the prior couple innings. As always, Lucroy was up to the challenge as his masterful catching prevented the Orioles from scoring while he was in the game.
It’s not surprising the Red Sox were undefeated last year when Lucroy appeared behind the plate, and just 23-36 when he did not. I wish him well.
We need more content like this
I would love the A’s to pick him up. I think Murphy needs a mentor.. hes struggling in a sophomore year..
This is his first year,isn’t it?
No. 60 game season so his first full season. I agree with Philly A’s
How anyone could write so many sentences on Lucroy’s attempts to avoid pandemic dad life is amazing and oddly inspiring. If you’re a gen z journalism major take note, this is how you bs a word minimum.
Last paycheck guy treatment is warranted.
Lucroy’s last good season was in Oakland and he would probably be an upgrade as a backup/mentor to Murphy. The Mets too could be a possibility as Tomas Nido still can not hit Major League pitching same for the Braves as Alex Jackson is almost a guaranteed out, though the Braves have Jeff Mathis who should get first crack at replacing Jackson if the Braves send him down.
He should take a minor league offer from the Braves if offered. Alex Jackson cannot hit and DArnald has reverted back to his pre Tampa ways. But IMO the Braves should call up Conteras and see what the kid can do.
Yankees should trade Sanchez for a SP and sign Lucroy.
Lucroy wouldn’t be an improvement over Sanchez, in fact it would be a major downgrade
Uhh, no.
Any SP you could get for Sanchez would have difficulty making a AAA roster.
Rockies? He’s got to better than the .100 hitting Elias Diaz.
I’m actually surprised he hasn’t gotten an offer yet. He’s def better than some of backups in the majors. Not all of them are rookies or early years players either.
The Rays should give him a look, Zunino is horrible.
Was kinda surprised they decided to re sign Zunino. Good receiver but offers little with the bat. Appears Lucroy has found his hitting stroke again but has regressed defensively. A position where the players tend not to age well.
Found his hitting stroke? Um, absolutely not. It’s 14 plate appearances for goodness sake. That outweighs the last four years? C’mon.
What, no comments about how he’s dropped off substantially since declining a chance to chase a WS title with Cleveland?
Nope, thanks for bringing it up.
Sox never should have let Lucroy go, he’s too good. Maybe they can send Collins down and sign Lucroy
Collins needs to continue to work with the pitching staff as he develops his offense.
Grandal isn’t the long time solution for the Sox. Lucroy is less than Grandal.
Depends how you define “long time” in baseball. Grandal has almost three years left on his contract. In baseball that’s a long time. Playing hurt right now (knee) With Mercedes breaking out and taking over the DH position the pressure to get offense from a catcher has diminished. Lineup stacked with bats even with Jimenez out for the season. A good thing Lucroy was cut. Was probably either him or Yermin.
Isn’t Lucroy just about 10 games shy of having 10 years of service time and getting a mlb pension/ lifetime benefits? Surely some team will sign him as a backup for a few weeks this season?
This guy was so highly sought after at a time. It’s amazing how the time can catch up to players. I like him as a back stop. He may be a good coach or manager some day.
Since he can play 1st also, I’d be happy to have him back in Milwaukee . We just cut our 3rd string catcher from the 40 man and the young guns aren’t quite ready yet this year. Pina also is going to have his usual il stint at some point
Why does him playing first help his value? Is your team so painfully lacking in backup first base options that it matters? You can plug most players into first base with a bit of practice. A terrible hitting first baseman is basically valueless
Very little production from the Jays at catcher position. They won’t win a playoff spot with so many outs in the lineup everyday. Time to make some changes.
Unbelievably, Lucroy probably actually is an upgrade from what Toronto is currently running out there
I’d be fine with them picking up Lucroy and moving Kirk back to AAA or the alternate site for a while. It’s hard for him to be much worse than Jansen and Kirk in the early going.
Kirk is probably better off playing every day at AAA instead if 1/3 of the time with Toronto.
Kirk is listed as 5’8”, 265. Yikes. I’d think he’s gonna have to deal with that as much as anything. Decent minor league stats but, and I no expert, but I think he’ll need to lose weight to have a successful career.