Arguably the most accomplished catcher of the 2010s not named Buster Posey or Yadier Molina, Lucroy’s best years — including a fourth-place MVP finish (and 8.2 fWAR) in 2014 — came with the Brewers, but he remained a serviceable option behind the plate for several years to come following a deadline trade to the Rangers in 2016. His production did dip considerably thereafter, however, and he became something of a journeyman in his 30s, playing for the Rockies, A’s, Angels, Cubs, Red Sox, Nationals, and Braves. He sported a robust .284/.343/.442 batting line across his first seven seasons — all but the last two months of 2016 in Milwaukee — but a comparatively paltry .248/.315/.350 thereafter. His once-elite defensive acumen also declined precipitously in the latter half of his career; after accruing 95 defensive runs saved between 2010 and 2016, he cost his teams 42 runs thereafter per the Fielding Bible metric.

For his career, Lucroy logged a more-than-respectable .274/.335/.416 triple-slash, a particularly strong output given the comparatively anemic production at his position across the majors. While he’s unlikely to receive any serious Hall of Fame consideration, the long-time Brewer can hang his hat on an excellent career that included two All-Star selections (in 2014 and 2016), 37 career fWAR, and four playoff appearances, including a 2011 NLCS run with the Brewers.

• Veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy was assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett after clearing waivers, the Braves announced. He has enough service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. Once one of the game’s premier catchers, the now-35-year-old Lucroy has slipped into journeyman status. He went 1-for-5 in a brief look with the Braves, who are his second big league team of the season and fifth in the past three years (not counting his Spring Training run with the White Sox). An All-Star in 2016, it’s been a swift decline for Lucroy, who has batted just .249/.317/.350 in 1286 plate appearances split among eight teams since the start of the 2017 season.
• Infielder Wyatt Mathisen went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma, the Mariners announced. He was designated for assignment earlier in the week. The 27-year-old Mathisen came over from the Rays in a deal that sent cash back to Tampa Bay late last month. He didn’t appear in a big league game and has struggled in 15 Triple-A contests with the Mariners, although his Triple-A track record prior to this stint has been excellent. Mathisen hit .288/.344/.525 with the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham earlier this year and posted a massive .283/.403/.601 slash through 87 games with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A club back in 2019 (albeit in the juiced ball season). He has experience at second base and all four corner positions.

Lucroy signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in May, and appeared in two games for the Braves after his contract was selected 10 days ago.  In 23 total plate appearances with the Braves and Nationals this season, Lucroy has a .316/.409/.368 slash line, though it isn’t clear whether that small sample size might earn Lucroy a look with another team if the Braves do indeed part ways with the 35-year-old.

The former All-Star has appeared in eight total Major League games since the start of the 2020 season, and apart from a second-half outburst as a member of the Rockies in 2017, he hasn’t been an above-average hitter since the last of those All-Star campaigns in 2016.  With catching depth always a scarcity around baseball, the odds are probably in favor of Lucroy landing elsewhere on another minor league deal, or a team could even claim him off DFA waiver or arrange a trade with Atlanta.

Lucroy is one of six different catchers who have suited up behind the plate for the Braves this season, as injuries (particularly to projected starter Travis d’Arnaud) have turned the catching position into a big weak spot for the team.  D’Arnaud is expected to return at some point in August, while the combo of Vogt and Kevan Smith will hold the fort in the interim.

With Travis d’Arnaud injured for much of the season and not expected back until August, the Braves have gotten sub-replacement level production from the catching position this season, ranking 29th of 30 teams in catcher bWAR.  Contreras initially looked good after being called up from Triple-A, but his bat cooled off, leaving the 23-year-old with a modest .204/.278/.387 slash line and seven home runs in 158 plate appearances.

It’s probably safe to assume that Contreras will be recalled at some point this season, perhaps as soon as he gets his timing back and strings together some good games at the plate for Triple-A Gwinnett.  In the interim, Atlanta will make do at catcher with the veteran combo of Lucroy and Kevan Smith, and Alex Jackson is also on a rehab assignment after missing two months with a strained hamstring and an injured finger.

Lucroy inked a minor league deal with the Braves in May, about a month after he chose free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Nationals’ alternate training site.  Lucroy appeared in five games with Washington this season and one game with the Red Sox in 2020, and it has now been several seasons since the former All-Star has been a significant force in a lineup.

Until Jackson is ready to return, Lucroy and Smith could essentially be competing to see who remains on the MLB roster, though Atlanta could also opt to keep the two veterans on hand and keep the less-experienced Jackson at Triple-A.  While d’Arnaud’s return should theoretically stabilize matters, the Braves could certainly look to acquire catching help at the trade deadline, adding some depth in case d’Arnaud has a setback.

The 34-year-old Lucroy had been looking for a team since the Nationals designated him for assignment April 12, though he was choosy in selecting a club. Lucroy reportedly turned down multiple minor league offers in hopes of scoring a guaranteed deal, but that was a tough sell when considering how the former star’s career has gone since his 2010-16 heyday with the Brewers and Rangers.

Lucroy spent parts of 2017-19 with five different teams – the Rangers, Rockies, Athletics, Angels and Cubs – but didn’t experience much success outside of Colorado during that span. He combined to hit .248/.315/.350 with 18 home runs and minus-0.1 fWAR across 1,263 plate appearances in those three seasons, and his once-ballyhooed pitch-framing ability eroded at the same time. As a result, he has appeared in just six games since last year (one with the Red Sox and five with the Nationals).

Lucroy will now lend some depth to a Braves team in need of it behind the plate. Starter Travis d’Arnaud underwent surgery on a torn thumb ligament earlier this month and won’t return until at least July. Likewise, Alex Jackson has been out all month with a strained hamstring. And Tyler Flowers, whom the Braves re-signed to a minors pact May 6, decided to retire Friday. Atlanta is now down to William Contreras and Jeff Mathis as its top two options at the big league level.

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.

12:10pm: Veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy went unclaimed on outright waivers and has elected free agency over a minor league assignment with the Nationals, per his MLB.com transactions log. He’s now free to sign with any other club.

The 34-year-old Lucroy spent Spring Training with the White Sox, who cut him loose late in camp. He latched on with the Nationals after the team saw nine players, including both Yan Gomes and Alex Avila, unavailable for Opening Day due to Covid-19 positives within the organization. Lucroy wound up starting for the Nats on Opening Day and appeared in five games for the club, going 5-for-14 with a double and a pair of RBIs.

Lucroy isn’t the same player he was at his peak with the Brewers in 2011-14, when he was one of the game’s top all-around options behind the plate. His numbers both at the plate and behind it have waned in recent seasons, as he’s batted just .249/.316/.351 in 1277 plate appearances since Opening Day 2017.

That said, Lucroy is a 12-year big league veteran and two-time All-Star who can still swing the bat more effectively than many backup options around the league. He had a nice showing with the ChiSox this spring, going 6-for-18 with a double, five walks and only one strikeout in 23 plate appearances. He may not find an immediate spot on a big league roster, but it’d hardly be a surprise for several clubs to show interest in adding Lucroy on a minor league deal as a depth option — particularly if said teams are relying on one or more inexperienced catching options on their big league roster.

Jon Lester is the only player still on the COVID-related injury list, as the Nationals have just about all of their roster back following the coronavirus outbreak that forced the team to postpone its first four games of the season.  Washington hasn’t yet announced its lineup for tonight’s game with the Cardinals, but it’s probably safe to assume that at least one of Bell, Schwarber, or Harrison will be able to play, since the team would otherwise be rather shorthanded.

Lucroy was signed to a minor league deal on April 3 and he ended up appearing in five games with Washington (hitting .357/.357/.429 in 14 plate appearances).  The Nationals added Lucroy since their catching corps was also depleted by the COVID-19 outbreak, and the veteran could now potentially head elsewhere with at least a decent five-game audition under his belt for a future suitor.  As noted by MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other writers, Lucroy is very close to achieving 10 full years of Major League service time, and will continue to accumulate service days while designated.

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In a sequence of corresponding roster moves, the Nats recalled catcher Tres Barrera; right-handers Ryne Harper and Kyle McGowin; infielders Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia; lefty Sam Clay; and outfielder Yadiel Hernandez from their alternate training site. Washington also selected the contracts of veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy and outfielder Cody Wilson. Wilson was specifically designated as a “replacement player,” indicating that he can be removed from the 40-man roster and sent back to the minors without clearing waivers as the affected Nationals players are cleared to return to the roster.

Notably, the Nationals’ Opening Day roster includes shortstop Trea Turner — a welcome development after Turner was absent from yesterday’s workout with the team. Manager Dave Martinez tells reporters that Turner was not cleared to be on the field yesterday (Twitter link via the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty), so it seems he cleared protocols this morning. Turner will be joined in the Opening Day infield by Ryan Zimmerman, Hernan Perez (at second) and Starlin Castro (at third). The Nats will give Andrew Stevenson the nod in left field alongside Victor Robles and Juan Soto, while Lucroy draws the start behind the plate, catching Max Scherzer.

The Nationals will make up yesterday’s postponed contest against the Braves in a doubleheader tomorrow. It’s not yet clear when they’ll make up their three postponed games against the Mets, although given that they’re division rivals, the remainder of this season’s schedule will provide ample opportunity for those games to be played.

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.

Elsewhere around the game…

• Hunter Dozier’s hand is swollen, but the Royals don’t think he’ll miss enough time to warrant a roster move, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Dozier left Thursday’s opener late in the game when he right thumb swelled up as he took practice swings. Hanser Alberto was his in-game replacement, and he’s a good candidate to start games at the hot corner until Dozier is well enough to go again.
• The Nationals are exploring the market for veteran catchers, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). Jonathan Lucroy is at least one name on their radar. The Nats would appear to be relatively set at catcher with veterans Yan Gomes and Alex Avila already on the roster. It is best to avoid connecting any dots between this report and the Nats’ COVID-19 outbreak for the time being, however. Though the names of those affected have not yet been released, there’s little utility nor sensitivity in speculating. That said, the Nationals are fairly well stocked in the minors as well with Welington Castillo, Tres Barrera and Raudy Read in Triple-A, though only Barrera is currently on the 40-man roster.

Some more notes from the game’s Central divisions:

• Renato Nuñez will remain with the Tigers and head to the alternate training site to begin the 2021 season even after being informed that he didn’t make the Opening Day roster, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. Hinch called the decision “great news for us” and said he expects Nuñez to eventually be up with the big league club. Nuñez, 27 on Sunday, slugged 43 homers with the Orioles from 2019-20 but didn’t exactly force his way onto Detroit’s roster with a spring they couldn’t ignore. In 13 games and 32 plate appearances, he slashed .194/.219/.355 with a homer and a dozen strikeouts (37.5 percent).
• The Cubs have interest in catchers Tony Wolters and Jonathan Lucroy, reports Bruce Levine of 670 the Score (Twitter link). A deal with the left-handed hitting Wolters might be more likely, Levine notes, considering Chicago’s starting catcher, Willson Contreras, hits right-handed. Both Wolters and Lucroy were recently released from minor-league deals with other clubs (the Pirates and White Sox, respectively) after failing to crack the active roster. Wolters has spent his entire MLB career with the Rockies, while Lucroy briefly played for the Cubs in 2019.
• Pirates right-hander Cody Ponce will not be available for Opening Day, GM Ben Cherington announced to reporters (including Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). The 26-year-old “felt something…in his forearm area,” in the words of the GM. That sounds rather ominous but Ponce has at least been able to continue throwing on the side as he attempts to work through the injury. A former second-round pick of the Brewers, Ponce made his MLB debut with Pittsburgh last season, working to a 3.18 ERA/5.27 SIERA over five appearances.

Lucroy, 34, appeared in 14 games with the Sox during Spring Training but only tallied 23 trips to the plate. It’s a small sample of work, but he hit well in that time, going 6-for-18 with a double and drawing five walks against just one strikeout. He’d long looked like a very plausible backup option behind Grandal, but it seems the Sox will instead turn things over to younger, in-house alternatives.

Keeping Lucroy would’ve required opening another 40-man roster spot. They’ll already need to do so for Andrew Vaughn at the very least — assuming he makes the club, as expected — and could need to do so for Jake Lamb, depending on the terms of the agreement he reached with the South Siders earlier this morning. Eloy Jimenez can be moved to the 60-day IL to create one such opening, but the Sox may not be keen on finding ways to open too many additional spots.

Lucroy was arguably MLB’s premier catcher at one point, but that was back in 2016 and his subsequent decline has been precipitous, to say the least. Since Opening Day 2017, Lucroy has posted a combined .248/.315/.305 batting line that clocks in at 24 percent worse than league-average production by measure of both OPS+ and wRC+. His once-vaunted framing numbers have tumbled as well, as has his ability to catch opposing base thieves. Lucroy appeared in just one big league game last year, with the Red Sox, and did not tally a plate appearance.

Now 34 years old, Lucroy was one of baseball’s finest all-around backstops during his heyday with the Brewers and Rangers from 2010-16. But Lucroy’s production, both behind the plate and as a hitter, has since deteriorated. Dating back to 2017, the two-time All-Star has batted .253/.319/.348 with 10 home runs in a combined 935 plate appearances with the Rangers, Rockies, Athletics, Angels and Cubs, and his once-elite pitch-framing skills have also eroded. While Lucroy did spend time with the Red Sox and Phillies last season, he didn’t pick up a plate appearance with either team.

Lucroy will now try for a backup role with the White Sox, who have an outstanding starter in Yasmani Grandal. He and James McCann were Chicago’s top two options in 2020, but the latter departed in free agency for a four-year, $40MM contract with the Mets. McCann’s exit left the White Sox with Grandal and Zack Collins as their No. 1 and 2 catchers. Fellow backstops Seby Zavala and Yermin Mercedes are also on the team’s 40-man roster.

The Phillies are banged up at catcher and first base, so this is a late effort by the club to add depth as the posteason nears. Philadelphia’s 24-23 and on track for a playoff spot, though starting catcher J.T. Realmuto hasn’t played since Sept. 12 because of hip problems, and first baseman Rhys Hoskins went to the IL on Monday as a result of a left UCL injury.

Lucroy, like Realmuto is now, was one of the majors’ best catchers in his heyday. However, the former Brewers standout has fallen on hard times offensively and defensively with a few teams over the past couple years. The Red Sox released Lucroy on Tuesday, which came after he totaled one plate appearance with the club this season.

Bird was a high-profile prospect with the Yankees not too long ago, and he made an encouraging debut in 2015, but a series of injuries have helped derail his career since then. Bird was previously with the Rangers, who designated him for assignment in August. The 27-year-old could now reunite with Joe Girardi, who managed the Yankees at the beginning of Bird’s career and is now the Phillies’ skipper.