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Jonathan Lucroy

Nationals On Jonathan Lucroy’s No-Trade List

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The Nationals have interest in Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy but are one of eight clubs on the 29-year-old’s no-trade list, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That, of course, presents an immediate roadblock but does not eliminate the possibility of a trade. In such instances, players will sometimes agree to forfeit their no-trade rights for some form of incentive from the acquiring team. The Nationals themselves made a compromise with Jonathan Papelbon last July, agreeing to guarantee his 2016 option at a slightly lesser rate ($11MM instead of $13MM) in order for Papelbon to accept the trade.

Lucroy is on one of baseball’s most favorable contracts, slated to earn just $4MM this season with an equally reasonable $5.25MM club option for the 2017 season. The overwhelmingly affordable nature of that option means that a Papelbon type of situation — exercising the option in advance — probably isn’t enough, as the option is likely to be picked up even in the event that Lucroy suffers an injury in 2016. An extension beginning in 2017 or, at the very least, an extension covering the 2017 season at a higher rate, could seemingly provide motivation for Lucroy to green-light a swap between the two sides.

Recently, Lucroy took to the media to voice his desire to play for a winning club. The longtime Brewer was respectful toward the Milwaukee organization — the only one he has ever known — speaking highly of the team but plainly stating that he preferred to be on a winning club. The implication, of course, is that a trade would be best for all parties involved. In that sense, a trade to the Nationals, whom many expect to contend for the NL East or at least for Wild Card spot, seem like an appealing landing spot for Lucroy.

Extracting full value in a trade of Lucroy, however, will be challenging for the Brewers. Lucroy started slowly in 2015 and then missed a sizable chunk of time due to a fractured toe suffered in late April. He returned on June 1 and hit more like himself over the next three months before suffering a concussion in early September. That injury sidelined him for about three weeks, and upon his return, he was limited to first base duties. While he’s fully expected to catch again in 2016, the possibility of lingering concussion issues and a down season that saw him post an overall batting line of .264/.326/.391 are factors working against his trade value.

The Nats were rumored to be seeking catching help earlier this offseason, although GM Mike Rizzo responded to those rumors quickly by offering high praise for incumbent backstop Wilson Ramos. Of course, moving Ramos to a backup role, while an unfavorable outcome for the player (Ramos is a free agent after the 2016 season), would certainly serve to deepen the Nationals’ roster, and the team hasn’t shied away from stockpiling depth (or attempting to, anyhow) all around the roster this winter. Daniel Murphy and Stephen Drew were both signed despite the fact that the Nats entered the season with reasonable middle infield depth, and the team has pursued Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes despite not having a clear need at any of their respective positions. The Nats have more of a need behind the plate than they did in those spots, so a run at Lucroy certainly wouldn’t be unreasonable.

Brewers Notes: Attanasio, Lucroy, Garza, Braun

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Here’s some of the news coming out of the “Brewers On Deck” winter fanfest event held today in Milwaukee…

  • Rebuilding is “a little bit of a new experience” for Mark Attanasio, and while the Brewers principal owner tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he wants his team to return to contention as soon as possible, he also wants to give his front office a fair amount of time to properly rebuild the roster.  “I’ve told them [GM David Stearns and assistant GM Matt Arnold] to look at what we need to do to get back to the playoffs,” Attanasio said. “If that takes a few years, it takes a few years. You don’t have to make a trade every few months.”  Here’s some more from around the NL Central…
  • Attanasio expects Jonathan Lucroy to still be a Brewer when Spring Training camp opens.  “Jonathan is like me; he wants to win,” Attanasio said.  “He works hard. He’s one of our hardest-working guys. So, we have the same mind set on this….As an owner, I’m delighted he’ll be playing for us this year. I’m very supportive of Jonathan. He’s been an awesome part of this team.”  Lucroy was quite candid in a recent interview with Haudricourt about how a trade could benefit both he and the Brewers, while the catcher stopped short of actually asking for a trade.
  • Matt Garza plans to “pitch selfishly” in 2016, the righty told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy), meaning that he will “stop trying to be someone [else], stop trying to please people and just go out there and be me. I’ve been trying to please people to stay places, and it’s just the point in my career where I’m over it.”  Garza said he’s revamped his offseason training procedures to rebound after a tough 2015 season that saw him leave the team after he was removed from the rotation in September.  That departure coincided with a tough situation in Garza’s personal life, as his wife was bedridden while pregnant with twins (thankfully, the delivery went smoothly in October).  With the difficulties of 2015 behind him, Garza also said that he wants to remain in Milwaukee.  “I want to see [the rebuilding] through.  I want to be here when all the fruits come bearing.  I’m going to do what I’ve got to do to stay here,” Garza said.
  • Ryan Braun is excited by all of the young talent entering the Brewers’ system, he tells Tom Haudricourt and other reporters.  “I think we have probably more potential, young impact players than we’ve had in a long time, probably since I’ve been part of the organization….I think we’re building toward something that we’ll be able to have sustained success and have some impact players,” Braun said.  “We’re completely dependent upon our system being able to produce impact players.  I think that’s something we haven’t done very well the last five or six years.”  It’s for this reason that Braun takes a realistic view of the Brewers’ trades of veteran players and the decision to rebuild, noting “It is not like we’re breaking up a team that had a tremendous amount of success.”
  • For more on the Brewers, check out the most recent edition of the MLBTR Podcast, which features an interview with Milwaukee general manager David Stearns about the team’s offseason moves, future plans and more.

Cafardo On Lincecum, Lucroy, Fister

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The Giants are just about done with making offseason moves, GM Bobby Evans tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Evans has been monitoring free agent Tim Lincecum, but he doesn’t anticipate a reunion since the team already boasts a star-studded starting five.  Cafardo raises the idea that Lincecum could be in store for a bullpen role in 2016, but Evans’ comments make it seem as though that won’t take place in San Francisco.

Before being shut down midway through the season, Lincecum had posted a 4.13 ERA, although with a 7.1 K/9 and a high 4.5 BB/9 that were even less impressive than that modest ERA figure. His average fastball velocity also fell from 89.6 MPH in 2014 to 87.2 MPH. Lincecum will probably be forced to settle for a one-year deal as he looks to come back from hip surgery entering his age-32 season.

Here’s more from today’s column:

  • “A few baseball folks” tell Cafardo that they get the sense something is brewing with Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy.  The Brewers backstop has a limited no-trade clause, but teams such as the Astros and Nationals could have interest in adding a top catcher like Lucroy.  The veteran isn’t coming off his best season, but his highly contract still makes him an attractive trade target. Lucroy is set to earn just $4MM in 2016 and $5.25MM (or a $250K buyout) in 2017.
  • A few teams had concerns about the medicals on Doug Fister, one NL team official told Cafardo. Fister got a one-year, $7MM deal from the Astros, but some teams thought they could get him on a minor league deal.  Fister, soon-to-be 32, could be a bounceback candidate for Houston. After several strong years in Detroit, he put up a stellar 2.41 ERA over 164 frames in 2014, his first season with the Nationals. But things went south last year, as he dealt with injury issues and lost his rotation spot after he was tagged for a 4.60 ERA and .302/.341/.471 batting line in 15 starts.
  • One NL scout tells Cafardo that free agent shortstop Ian Desmond should move to third base. “I think he would be excellent there,” said the scout. “He’s a shortstop who probably doesn’t have the great range, but he’d be very good at third. He’s a great kid in the clubhouse who works hard. At some point, there has got to be a team, maybe one who has a pick at the end of the first round, who’d give that up for a guy like this.”  As the former All-Star continues to sit on the open market, some have wondered if a deal could be possible with the Rays.
  • Mat Latos remains on the open market in part because of a perceived attitude problem.  One NL official believes that he needs some discipline to stay in line.  “You would need a strong manager to keep him in line and acting the way you want him to act. A Buck Showalter, a Bruce Bochy, a Dusty Baker. The guy really competes, but he just gets too outspoken for his own good,” the official said.

MLBTR Podcast With Brewers GM David Stearns

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Milwaukee’s GM David Stearns joins the show to talk about how he’s begun shaping the Brewers in his first three months on the job. He covers an array of topics, including the team’s efforts to acquire controllable talent, the status of veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy, and what he’s hoping for out of the 2016 season.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams then hops on with host Jeff Todd to talk through the current market outlook for talented infielders Ian Desmond and Howie Kendrick. While there are still plenty of possibilities for both players, the requirement of draft compensation and a dwindling number of contenders with clear needs may have sapped some of their leverage.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

NL Central Notes: Liriano, Pirates, Brewers, Cardinals, Tanking

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Francisco Liriano embodies the rising trend of pitchers throwing fewer pitches in the strike zone than ever, writes Fangraphs’ August Fagerstrom. In 2014-15, Liriano recorded to two lowest single-season zone percentage marks (the number of pitches thrown in the designated strike zone) since the stat began being tracked. However, he also coerced opposing hitters into chasing more than a third of his out-of-zone pitches, yielding high quality results in his third year with the Pirates. As Fagerstrom notes, though, the decrease of pitches in the strike zone is not confined to Liriano’s left arm but is rather a league-wide phenomenon. And, despite the rapidly decreasing number of pitches thrown in the zone, hitters are failing to adjust and continuing to chase. While it’s not the case with Liriano specifically, Fagerstrom hypothesizes that the record levels of velocity throughout the game mean hitters must be more geared up for velocity than ever before, thereby limiting their ability to recognize and lay off breaking pitches out of the zone. Additionally, he speculates that the fact that umpires are continuing to expand the strike zone creates a greater urgency within hitters to protect themselves at the plate. It’s an interesting analysis that’s well worth reading in its entirety. (Additionally, while his column doesn’t state this, Fagerstrom’s analysis reminds how strong Liriano’s work was in the first season of a three-year, $39MM investment that right now looks to be an excellent move for the club.)

Onto some other items pertaining more closely to the Pirates and their division…

  • The Pirates will face a challenge in replacing Francisco Cervelli, who hits free agency next winter, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates have picked up a trio of excellent pitch-framers in Cervelli, Russell Martin and Chris Stewart in recent years, but the Martin contract shows what a premium the market now places on catcher defense, Sawchik notes, thus making it seem unlikely that they’ll re-sign Cervelli, who could end up as the market’s most valuable catcher. Sawchik sees no chance that the two sides will hammer out an extension, and he points out that while top prospect Reese McGuire draws strong praise for his glovework, he can’t be expected to be a contributor before 2018.
  • Later in that same piece, Sawchik notes that the Pirates’ front office has taken a number of significant hits this winter — the most recent of which is the loss of Tyrone Brooks to the Commissioner’s Office. Brooks, the former director of player personnel, oversaw the team’s international and pro scouting efforts and played a large role in the acquisition of Jung Ho Kang. The Pirates have also lost special assistants Jim Benedict (who was renowned for his work with the team’s pitchers) and Marc DelPiano — both of whom left the organization to take positions with the Marlins.
  • There’s been little in the way of trade talk surrounding Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun, Jon Heyman tweeted recently. Milwaukee has made more of an effort with catcher Jonathan Lucroy to this point, per Heyman, perhaps due to the club’s recognition of what would be a limited market for Braun. The asking price on Lucroy is said to be high, though Lucroy himself is open to a deal. As for Braun, his five-year, $105MM extension begins this season, but his value has been tarnished by a PED suspension as well as offseason back surgery and a nerve issue in his thumb that twice required a cryotherapy treatment last year. Braun did enjoy a nice season at the plate, however, hitting .285/.356/.498 with 25 homers and 24 steals.
  • Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta’s second-half decline may have been part of the impetus to trade for Jedd Gyorko, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While Peralta himself said this past weekend that he doesn’t feel he wore down late in the year and always wants to play in as many games as possible, the 33-year-old batted just .247/.313/.305 over the season’s final two months. Hummel writes that Gyorko could be used to spell Peralta at third base despite a suspect glove at the position. Moreover, he notes that Aledmys Diaz, fresh off a monster second half and Arizona Fall League showing, could soon knock on the door to the Majors. “We’re excited where he is,” said GM John Mozeliak of Diaz. “I think you’ll probably see (Diaz) playing in the big leagues at some point this year, I wouldn’t rule that out at all and I welcome that.” Peralta expressed comfort with moving anywhere on the diamond, should the need arise, citing previous experience at third base and even at first base and in the outfield.
  • “Tanking” has become a popular buzzword due to the number of rebuilding clubs in the National League, but Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron rejects the idea that any of the so-called tanking teams is actually trying to lose as many games as possible. The Brewers have held onto the likes of Lucroy and Will Smith thus far despite favorable contracts that appeal to other clubs, and they haven’t paid down a significant portion of Braun’s deal to move his bat, either — a reasonable expectation for a club gunning for the No. 1 pick. The Reds have prioritized proximity to the Majors over long-term upside in trades of veterans and haven’t made an effort to move their best player, Joey Votto, Cameron writes. The Braves have signed Nick Markakis and targeted MLB-ready help like Shelby Miller, Ender Inciarte and Hector Olivera in trades over the past 15 months, to say nothing of their Nick Markakis signing (and, I might add, the complementary signings of A.J. Pierzynski, Jason Grilli, Jim Johnson and others). The Phillies are the only team that could reasonably fit the definition of “tanking” we see in the NBA, writes Cameron, but the best players in baseball can’t influence a team in the same manner they can in basketball. And, he rhetorically asks, would baseball truly be better off if the Phillies followed the path the Rockies have for the past several years — staunchly refusing to trade veterans (prior to this summer’s Troy Tulowitzki deal) and remaining in a noncompetitive state as opposed to “bottoming out in the hopes of bouncing back to high levels?”

NL Central Notes: Bastardo, Pirates, Rosenthal, Lucroy, Peraza

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The Pirates made an effort to re-sign left-hander Antonio Bastardo, tweets Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray. Pittsburgh was willing to offer the lefty a two-year, $8MM contract to return to the bullpen, but he eclipsed that mark fairly handily in landing a total of $12MM over the life of his two-year deal with the Mets. Bastardo reportedly drew varying levels of interest from the Dodgers, Orioles, Blue Jays and Twins in addition to Pittsburgh and New York. From my vantage point, given the willingness to go to two years on Bastardo and the lack of internal options on the 40-man roster beyond excellent setup man Tony Watson and DFA reclamation Kyle Lobstein, the Pirates make sense as a landing spot for a veteran lefty on a one-year deal.

Elsewhere in the NL Central…

  • The upcoming wave of collective bargaining negotiations will be a critical one for small-market teams like the Pirates, writes USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who spoke to Pirates owner Bob Nutting for the column. Nutting spoke about how he’d “love to see [Andrew McCutchen] stay with us forever,” though as Nightengale notes, that’s a difficult proposition considering Pittsburgh’s payroll constraints and the robust free agent prices (specifically, Nightengale references Jason Heyward’s deal, though comparing a 26-year-old to McCutchen, who will be entering his age-32 season when hitting the open market after 2018, is somewhat of an imperfect analogy). Revenue sharing and possible alterations to the luxury tax in an attempt to level the playing field, to some extent, will both be topics of discussion, Nightengale notes, though as he points out, it’s unlikely that the Pirates, Brewers, Indians and other small-market clubs will ever be able to spend at the level of the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox. Nutting feels this CBA will be “critically” important to small-market clubs and hopes steps are taken to give such teams greater access to talent acquisition.
  • Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal tells Ben Frederickson and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that there have been no talks of a long-term deal with the team at this point. “As far as contractual, multi-year type things, I guess we haven’t had any talks,” said Rosenthal. “I don’t know what they’re thinking, what we’re thinking. I don’t know how any of that looks because I haven’t gone through it. Going through the arbitration process was pretty good. Smooth. I’m happy with how it ended up.” That’s a perhaps unsurprising revelation, as Rosenthal is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients rarely take contract extensions prior to hitting the open market. Beyond that, Rosenthal is already earning significant money in arbitration, having agreed to a $5.6MM salary for the 2016 season last week.
  • Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who candidly expressed his frustration with the team’s rebuilding process yesterday, tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he’s working to avoid further concussions after suffering a serious one late in the 2015 season. Specifically, Lucroy explained that doctors and team trainers have preached neck strengthening exercises, as studies have shown that neck strength can help to limit the impact of a concussion.
  • Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan examines the decline in Lucroy’s pitch-framing marks over the past four years and whether or not the Brewers (or an acquiring team) should expect him to bounce back in that regard. Sullivan’s research finds that catchers that see their pitch-framing numbers decline rarely experience a rebound in that particular metric, and perhaps more troubling, finds that Lucroy’s decline has been the most rapid of virtually any catcher in the league. As Sullivan notes, quantifiable pitch-framing metrics are relatively new, so there are some uncertainties with the information and there could be elements not being considered. Nonetheless, the initial returns on his examination don’t paint a particularly bright picture.
  • Because Brandon Phillips elected not to waive his no-trade rights earlier this offseason, Reds fans could see newly acquired prospect Jose Peraza at a number of positions in 2016, writes MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. “I think it’s important to remember that Peraza has played a lot at shortstop,” GM Dick Williams tells Sheldon. “He has played center field. There’s a chance we could see him in different spots. I don’t think getting playing time for him will be an issue. We’d gladly take an approach where we get him some time at different areas and see where he can be of assistance to the team.” Sheldon notes that one means of enticing Phillips to approve a trade would be to reduce his playing time somewhat in favor of Peraza, though that could result in some clubhouse problems by making a still-productive veteran feel slighted by the organization.

Jonathan Lucroy Discusses Trade Possibility

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Jonathan Lucroy has seen his name bandied about in trade rumors for quite some time, dating back to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Today, the Brewers’ catcher candidly and openly discussed the possibility of a trade with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and while he stopped short of asking new GM David Stearns to trade him Lucroy implied that a trade might be best for both him and the rebuilding Brewers. Via Haudricourt, Lucroy offered the following statement:

“I’m not going to sit here and say we’re going to compete for the playoffs this year. If I did that, you’d call me a liar. I’d lose credibility and respect. I want to win and I don’t see us winning in the foreseeable future. I want to go to a World Series. That’s what all players want. Rebuilding is not a lot of fun for any veteran guy. … It’s not guaranteed that I’m going to win if I am traded. But I’m going to be a 30-year-old catcher (in June). I can’t put numbers on how much longer I’m going to play, but as players we want to win. I don’t care about the money; I just want to win. That’s the bottom line.”

One thing made clear by Lucroy after those comments is that he is not asking for a trade, nor is he expecting to be traded. In fact, Lucroy told Haudricourt that he’s planning on heading to camp with the Brewers and will be playing this season “with a chip on [his] shoulder” as he looks to prove naysayers wrong in the wake of a down season in 2015. Last year, Lucroy was limited to 103 games by a fractured big toe and a concussion that came with lasting effects and forced him to finish the year at first base. “I want to go out and tear it up. It wasn’t for a lack of effort last year,” said Lucroy. “I just did not compete at the level I know I’m capable of. There’s always doubters out there, which is fine. I plan on proving a lot of people wrong.”

Of course, those injuries — specifically the late concussion — make Lucroy a difficult trade chip for teams to assess. On the one hand, Lucroy batted .297/.359/.472 and averaged 18 homers per 162 games from 2012-14 as Milwaukee’s primary catcher. He’s also signed to a highly affordable deal that will pay him $4MM in 2016 plus a $5.25MM club option for the 2017 campaign. Those components of the Lucroy equation paint the picture of a player teeming with trade value — one of baseball’s most coveted assets. However, the other side of the coin is a bit murkier; Lucroy batted .264/.326/.391 with seven home runs this past season — solid production for a catcher, but nowhere near the levels he displayed in the three years prior. On top of that, Lucroy caught his final game of the season on Sept. 8 due to the aforementioned concussion, with the remainder of his time coming as either a pinch-hitter or first baseman.

That creates somewhat of a difficult situation when looking to trade Lucroy. Stearns has reportedly been seeking an enormous return to part with Lucroy, and the 29-year-old’s outstanding track record and contract make that a justifiable request. However, teams are probably wary of the potential for lingering concussion effects, causing reluctance to surrender significant talent to part with Lucroy. By hanging onto Lucroy, Stearns runs the risk of continued diminished production, which would only drop his value further. But, trading Lucroy now would be selling low if Lucroy is indeed able to bounce back to his previous heights.

Haudricourt notes that the Brewers also value Lucroy’s leadership and his ability to be a voice of calm and reason on a rebuilding club that will likely go through some painful stretches in the upcoming season. Lucroy insists that his clubhouse demeanor won’t be any different if he remains with the team, saying he won’t “dog it” or be a bad teammate/clubhouse presence in 2016 if he’s not moved.

A number of teams have been linked to Lucroy over the course of the offseason, with the Rangers perhaps representing the most commonly cited team with interest. James Wagner of the Washington Post recently wrote that the Nationals like Lucroy quite a bit as well, and Washington is said to have explored the trade market for upgrades at the catcher position.

I’ll add that readers are encouraged to check out Haudricourt’s interview in its entirety, as the column contains far more quotes from Lucroy than are transcribed here in addition to plenty of insight from Milwaukee’s seasoned beat writer.

Central Notes: Lucroy, Cardinals, Aiken

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As the United States celebrates one of its greatest heroes, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s worth remembering that his cause, and even his own story, have many links with baseball. The wonderful Negro League Museum, which captures a uniquely compelling and important segment of American and baseball history, provides some incredible photos to drive this point home today (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mike Bertha explores those connections in honor of King. And as Examiner.com reminds us, you’ll want to revisit this Time story featuring a King anecdote from legendary Dodgers hurler Don Newcombe.

The threads of history extend everywhere, of course; as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explores, Pirates reliever Tony Watson’s great uncle, Tom Offenburger, served as an aide to King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. On this somber but grateful day, here are some notes from the game’s central divisions:

  • A pre-season trade of Brewers backstop Jonathan Lucroy appears to be increasingly unlikely, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel suggests (Twitter links). Milwaukee has put a justifiably steep price tag on the veteran, says Haudricourt, and it seems that “has scared off suitors.” Of course, it’s probably fair to add that the situation still warrants attention this spring. A strong Cactus League showing from Lucroy and/or a key injury for a contender could quickly shift the balance of considerations.
  • There’s no getting around the fact that some of the Cardinals’ most important players are getting up in years, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, but that aging core still has plenty of confidence entering 2016. “Nobody likes being called old, right?” said veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright. “But I think they’re right, for the most part. We are aging. We’re just becoming more wise. Somebody has to get old. If we’re still playing and older it means we still have some ability.” As Wainwright and owner Bill DeWitt Jr. rightly point out, too, it isn’t as if the organization lacks for any talented, younger players on its major league roster. Still, St. Louis remains one of the more interesting clubs to watch as it tries to defend its N.L. Central crown against two strong challengers in the Pirates and Cubs.
  • Indians lefty Brady Aiken is excited to be back on the bump, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. The high-ceiling youngster, who famously failed to sign with the Astros as the top overall pick before landing in Cleveland after being taken 17th overall last year, is still on a Tommy John rehab program but threw his first pitches from the mound last week. Both team and player have positive vibes from his first months in the organization, per the report, but the 19-year-old obviously has a long way to go both to regain his full physical health and then to start the grinding climb toward the majors.

Rosenthal On Chen, Marlins, Dickey, Lucroy

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Here’s the latest from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:

  • The Marlins have interest in Wei-Yin Chen despite owner Jeffrey Loria’s previous disagreements with Chen’s agent Scott Boras, Rosenthal writes. Chen’s cost could be an issue for the Marlins, but the Fish need a starter and have a protected first-round pick, and Rosenthal writes that Loria wants to make the team “as competitive as possible” for Don Mattingly’s first season as manager. As Rosenthal notes, Chen is the best free agent starting pitcher left on the market.
  • A report today indicated the Blue Jays could trade R.A. Dickey, but the Jays have not yet had discussions about that, and sources tell Rosenthal the Jays might be disinclined to deal Dickey because of the reliable innings he provides. The Jays’ series of going-for-it trades last year depleted their pitching depth (with Daniel Norris, Jeff Hoffman and others heading elsewhere), but a starter like Dickey who’s capable of pitching 200-plus innings can help them paper that over.
  • The Brewers continue to discuss trades involving catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Rosenthal writes. Lucroy isn’t coming off his best season, but his highly favorable contract (in which he’ll receive just $4MM in 2016 and $5.25MM or a $250K buyout in 2017) still makes him an attractive trade target. The Brewers could be inclined to trade Lucroy sooner rather than later, since the difficulty of learning to work with a new group of pitchers makes it tricky for catchers to go from team to team once a season has already begun.

Latest On Brewers’ Potential Trade Candidates

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In previewing the Brewers’ 2016 lineup yesterday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported a number of different trade-related items, noting that in addition to catcher Jonathan Lucroy, outfielder Khris Davis has drawn some interest on the trade market this offseason.

Clubs looking for offense in the outfield have contacted Milwaukee about Davis, per Haudricourt, and the team does have a logical in-house replacement in the form of Domingo Santana, who was acquired in the Carlos Gomez trade this past summer. Haudricourt notes that Santana currently projects to bounce around the outfield, seeing time at all three positions, although that role will probably limit his at-bats. While some might suggest Santana should simply handle center field on an everyday basis, it’s worth noting that his glove profiles better in an outfield corner than in center field. A rebuilding club like the Brewers could probably get away with playing him in center despite the lackluster results, but with both Davis and Ryan Braun under club control through 2019 (or, in Braun’s case, 2020), there’s no immediate opening for regular at-bats for Santana in the long-term.

Davis, who turned 28 in December, has batted .250/.315/.494 in two-and-a-half seasons at the Major League level, belting 60 home runs in 321 games/1142 plate appearances. That power production, while impressive, figures to begin earning him some notable salaries next offseason when he hits arbitration, though, so there’s some logic to the Brewers moving him while he still has one highly affordable pre-arbitration season remaining. While he grades out as a below-average defender in left field, Davis nonetheless hit 27 homers in 440 plate appearances last season and has posted relatively even platoon splits throughout his career to this point. Haudricourt notes that Davis would be moved “if the right offer” came along.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Haudricourt also writes that the Brewers “would not hesitate” to move Ryan Braun, should a “sensible” offer present itself. Braun is entering the first season of a five-year, $105MM extension this season, and while a PED suspension and some injuries have brought down his reputation somewhat, the 32-year-old was outstanding at the plate in 2015, batting .285/.356/.498 with 25 home runs and 24 stolen bases. Braun’s glovework was less impressive, although Defensive Runs Saved felt that he turned in much better results in his second season as a right fielder than in his first. Regardless, $21MM per year over the next five seasons would represent a hefty commitment to a player entering his age-32 season, especially considering the fact that he underwent lower back surgery this offseason and has twice had to undergo a cryotherapy treatment for a damaged nerve in his right thumb.

Turning to Lucroy, Haudricourt writes that teams “continue to inquire” about the affordable catcher, but GM David Stearns has as many reasons to retain Lucroy as he does trade him at this point. Lucroy’s value is down somewhat on the heels of a season that was slowed by a fractured toe and ended with concussion problems, so there’s definitely some sense in hanging onto the 29-year-old and letting him rebuild some of that value. Given his $4MM salary in 2016 and $5.25MM club option for the 2017 season, there’s little financial harm in doing so, and Lucroy would still be a desirable trade piece this summer. Additionally, as Haudricourt notes, the Brewers don’t have a young catching prospect knocking on the door, as they do at shortstop in Orlando Arcia. Of course, holding Lucroy does carry the risk of further injury or of the once-excellent backstop simply not returning to form and thereby further diminishing his trade value.

And lastly, having already mentioned Arcia, Haudricourt points out that his proximity to the Major Leagues will soon force the Brewers into a decision of sorts. Arcia is the shortstop of the future in Milwaukee, which means that Jean Segura could either be traded or moved to second base in the near future. If the latter outcome proves to be the Brewers’ desired course of action, then a trade of second baseman Scooter Gennett becomes a possibility. While some might wonder about the possibility of a platoon between the two — Gennett, after all, has never hit left-handed pitching much — Segura doesn’t have the type of strong platoon splits one would like to see in a platoon partner for Gennett. With Segura projected to earn $3.2MM this season, he’d make for the more logical trade candidate in Milwaukee, from my perspective, if and when Arcia does force his way into the big league picture, which could happen as soon as this summer.

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