Lucroy signs extension- Reportedly 5 years/$11 million

[bthurley19]

https://twitter.com/#!/Ken_Rosenthal/status/184357535623544834

 

Covers at least all arby years, 5th year would be first year of free agency.

 

Without seeing figures looks like a win-win.

[Invader3K]

You beat me to this by about a minute

 

Sounds good to me. I like Lucroy and it sounds like this deal is about establishing some cost certainty going forward.

[Oldcity]

I have to think eventually one of these deals are going to come back to bite the Brewers. Gallardo and Braun (the first one, at least) are one thing. Lucroy is another. He's not an elite talent, and he has actually been below average offensively in each season. Sure he's likely to get a bit better, but this is still somewhat odd to me.

[Invader3K]

"He's not an elite talente"

 

Not elite, but he's still one of the best catchers in the NL right now. Even halfway decent catchers don't grow on trees, which is why guys like Rod Barajas still have a job in 2012.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I like the idea. Will probably end up saving us money over time, just like a deal with Axford would. Makes a lot of sense.

[JohnBriggs12]

"He's not an elite talente"

 

Not elite, but he's still one of the best catchers in the NL right now. Even halfway decent catchers don't grow on trees, which is why guys like Rod Barajas still have a job in 2012.

 

Not only that, can anyone name a likely successor to Lucroy currently in the Brewer system? I can't. You can argue whether or not to sign Greinke or Marcum, but at least they've invested in young arms that may emerge to replace at least one of them. At best Maldanado projects as a backup. Maybe someone currently at a low level will emerge but that's a long way off. A long term deal isn't likely to be all that expensive and it gives them cost certainty at the position for what should be Lucroy's prime years.

[liveforoctober]

"He's not an elite talente"

 

Not elite, but he's still one of the best catchers in the NL right now. Even halfway decent catchers don't grow on trees, which is why guys like Rod Barajas still have a job in 2012.

 

Not only that, can anyone name a likely successor to Lucroy currently in the Brewer system? I can't. You can argue whether or not to sign Greinke or Marcum, but at least they've invested in young arms that may emerge to replace at least one of them. At best Maldanado projects as a backup. Maybe someone currently at a low level will emerge but that's a long way off. A long term deal isn't likely to be all that expensive and it gives them cost certainty at the position for what should be Lucroy's prime years.

 

Not only that ... but if the deal is fair (which it sounds like it is?) and you do end up finding a replacement for Lucroy,. he is a trade able piece for previously stated reasons. Locking him up now and avoiding another situation in a few seasons when we have to go through Estrada, Kendall, Zaun, etc ... is a very good thing.

[CheezWizHed]

At best Maldanado projects as a backup.

 

I agree with the rest of the post and this might be a bit nit-picking, but I'd say its most probable that Maldanado projects to be a backup. I don't think its that hard to see at best, he is as a starter (someone like Blanco or Matheny).

[Patrick425]

Locking him up now and avoiding another situation in a few seasons when we have to go through Estrada, Kendall, Zaun, etc ... is a very good thing.

 

It's really not a matter of "locking him up". Rosenthal stated that it's either 4 or 5 year. As has been mentioned, only the 5th year is a FA year, they already have him "locked up" for 4 years. This sounds like more of a bet that Lucroy would cost them more in the arbitration process than they would have to pay him through a LT deal.

[RockCoCougars]

This is a matter of cost certainty. There is always the risk that Lucroy will suffer a career threatening injury or otherwise fall of the face of the map. This deal basically shifts that risk from Lucroy to the team, and I'm assuming that he's forgoing what could potentially be a good chunk of change to do so. This could blow up in the Brewers' faces (a la the Listach deal many years ago), but not to Suppan-esque proportions.

[Invader3K]

Just as a small update, Jon Heyman is saying on Twitter this is pretty much a done deal. Should be announced today or tomorrow.

[Warning Track Power]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/milwaukee-locks-up-lucroy/

 

Favorite line out of this article is:

 

Lucroy’s ability to get umpires to call strikes saves 24 runs per 120 games – similar to the impact of an All-Star level bat.

 

I said this in my the prediction thread, Lucroy's value to this team is severly overlooked.

[Baldkin]

I think a lot of people are forgetting, that had he followed a normal progression he probably should've been a mid season call up last year, that he made the jump straight from AA to the majors two years ago, when Zaun went down and I really think this will be a bit of a breakout year for him.

[hawing]

As a recent purchaser of a Lucroy jersey, I'm delighted by this news.

[chadomac]

Count me in with the people that think Lucroy is a pretty decent catcher and I still think he could eventually hit to his potential. I'd be happy to have him for 4 more years.

[logan82]

I think a lot of people are forgetting, that had he followed a normal progression he probably should've been a mid season call up last year, that he made the jump straight from AA to the majors two years ago, when Zaun went down and I really think this will be a bit of a breakout year for him.

That isn't entirely true. Lucroy spent all of 2009 in AA. If I remember correctly, he went to AA in 2009 because Salome was in AAA.

[logan82]

He's not an elite talent, and he has actually been below average offensively in each season.

Catchers in general are below average hitters. He has been a little worse than the average NL catcher hitting but not by much.

 

AVG / OBP / SLG / OPS

AL 0.238/0.305/0.391/0.696

NL 0.250/0.320/0.388/0.708

MLB 0.245/0.313/0.389/0.702

Lucroy 0.265/0.313/0.391/0.703

[1992casey]

There is always the risk that Lucroy will suffer a career threatening injury or otherwise fall of the face of the map.

 

In the case of major injury, insurance would likely kick in. That would mean that if Luke were out long enough, the team would be paying a deductible rather than the full salary. There shouldn't be any issue in obtaining insurance on him at this point.

[Hitman_Hart]

I agree that this is a wise move. Beyond Wieters, Posey, and Mauer there aren't very many catchers who can provide what Lucroy has looked capable of. Given another season we may be looking at a guy who becomes a regular on the all-star team.

 

Also, count me in as a guy who owns a Lucroy jersey and is pleased that there are four more years of wearing it.

[umphrey]

This really surprised me

 

But any extra offensive production from Lucroy will be gravy at this point. His glovework provides immense value to the Brewers’ pitching staff. According to Mike Fast’s seminal work on catchers framing pitches, only Jose Molina betters Lucroy on a per-game basis. Lucroy’s ability to get umpires to call strikes saves 24 runs per 120 games – similar to the impact of an All-Star level bat.

 

-Jack Moore

[gregmag]

I love this move. I remember when Fangraphs first ran that article about pitch-framing -- it's a huge deal, an example of marrying old-school (scouting) and new-school (statistical analysis) player evaluation techniques. I also think Lucroy brings the ever-popular "intangibles" more than most people about whom that claim is made. Whether it's Braungate or LaRussa's pathological lying, Lucroy says smart, tough things that back up his teammates. Plus his combination of relative youth and offensive underperformance of his minor league numbers suggest that he's a reasonable bet to improve with the bat.

[Brewer Fever]

Another key to this deal is cost certainty and how it allows the team to try and get Greinke's deal done soon after the ink dries on this one.

[Bombers]

Covers 5 yrs for 11 million? Sounds like a steal

[umphrey]

Covers 5 yrs for 11 million? Sounds like a steal

 

That should work out well, his first arb in 2014 would have been well over $2M right? He's getting a raise in 2012 and 13 but we should easily make that back. Its guaranteed money but it's a good bet imo.

[BradWI]

was expecting a much higher amount