Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy (probably) is traded to the Indians
UPDATE: Lucroy vetoed his trade to the Indians after asking them to decline his 2017 club option, and with fear of C Yan Gomes getting playing time when returning from injury. The Indians declined to make Lucroy feel better about it, and would not rip up the option, so Lucroy declined. In my opinion, it appears the Brewers are now scrambling to find a new offer, kind of like the Carlos Gomez situation last season, as Lucroy is probably not happy with this situation. Many teams still need catcher help besides the Indians, including the Rangers, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs and Tigers. So, the Brewers should be capable of finding Lucroy a new suitor.
After what seems like 10 years of Jonathan Lucroy trade rumors, at least in the state of Wisconsin, Brewers' C Jonathan Lucroy is finally being traded. The only problem left is Lucroy himself: Will he waive his no-trade clause to join the presumably American League front-runners with his arrival? If it were me, I would, but Lucroy might have his own personal issues with the city of Cleveland. Maybe he doesn't want to be around LeBron James on a regular basis, for instance. I really don't know why he put Cleveland on his no-trade list, but it's there, and he must break it.
The trade itself, at this point, seems to just be Lucroy heading to Cleveland for quite a few prospects. It looks like four to five, in fact. According to unofficial rumors, the only certain piece going to Milwaukee is C Francisco Mejia, who is the top catcher and sixth overall prospect for Cleveland. But, with only C Jacob Nottingham in the Brewers' farm system, it definitely fills a need. Mejia is a few years away, enough time for Martin Maldonado and Nottingham to get a chance in the big leagues, but he is hitting the (expletive) out of the baseball in Class A and High A this year.
The other two guys the Brewers are believed to for sure be getting is SS Yu-Cheng Chang who is #12 in Cleveland's system (and I suppose you can't have enough shortstops, as if Jonathan Villar, Orlando Arcia, Isan Diaz and Gilbert Lara aren't enough) and OF Greg Allen who is #22 in Cleveland's system. And according to mlbtraderumors.com, #5 Cleveland prospect LHP Justus Sheffield (who is also nationally #95 overall) or #9 Cleveland prospect RHP Triston McKenzie are going as well.
In my opinion, congratulations are in order for both teams. For Cleveland, they obtained the second best catcher in baseball behind the Giants' Buster Posey in Lucroy, and they have a number three or four hitter to hit behind Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor, and ahead of Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana. Too bad OF Michael Brantley won't be around for a while still. Not only that, but Lucroy is excellent defensively as well, and he is extremely cheap. They should now (for the moment until Texas does something drastic) be the favorites to win the AL. And, although this isn't probably what Cleveland was thinking, but Lucroy has a lot of experience playing the Cubs, who are still World Series favorites from the National League. The best part, though, is Cleveland didn't have to give up any of its' top 4 prospects, and maybe top 5 if Sheffield doesn't become a Brewer. Huge win for Cleveland.
For the Brewers, you acquired the catcher of the future, who is on the same timeline as the rest of the prospects currently in the system. You acquired a future piece of the rotation in Sheffield, and a few guys who can battle to become key members of the roster. At the very worst, the Brewers acquired four talented prospects that should be able to produce in the big leagues in the near future.
