Lucroy to Rays?

[mlloyd10]

http://rayscoloredglasses.com/2015/07/24/tampa-bay-rays-rumors-could-jonathan-lucroy-be-acquired/

 

O'Conner/Snell/Gillaspie?

[JohnBriggs12]

If O'Conner looked like he would live up to his prior ratings, why would the Rays need Lucroy that bad?

 

Snell would be great, but none of the catchers in that proposal could fill Lucroy's shoes.

[reillymcshane]

I really don't know much about the Rays minor leaguers, so I'll leave that to others. But to me, the important thing is that Lucroy's name gets out there, generates buzz, generates interest. If other teams hear that the Rays are interested in Lucroy, it's smart for them to keep checking in with Melvin. The more people that do that, the more Milwaukee has to consider whether to move Lucroy. in the end, the more interest that Luc gets, the better his return as teams know they need to top other offers.

 

Of course, Melvin could just keep saying no, but the more inquiries he gets, the more chance he may listen. And that's the first step.

 

I just hope they don't do a blanket 'no' on Luc. It should be a 'I'm not motivated at this time, but if you have a great offer, I'll consider it.'

[Mr Southpaw]

I would need more for Luc. An extra pitcher and the 20 year old catcher maybe.

[superfly]

Any conversation should start and end with Honeywell, otherwise hang up the phone. 3 more years of Lucroy is worth 1 top 5 and a couple of their other good prospects to me.

[MNBrew]

Having been at last night's Rays game vs. Baltimore, the Rays' catching isn't much good offensively at all. And while I get the trade-mania mindset these days on account of our lousy place in the standings -- I'm very excited about a few of the possibilities -- I'm still convinced Lucroy's one of the guys they should not be looking to trade.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Luc brings an unreal haul, value wise he has one of the 5 best contracts in baseball.

[trwi7]

I'm still convinced Lucroy's one of the guys they should not be looking to trade.

 

Why? He's already come to the Brewers with the idea of an extension that would make him a "Brewer for life" and the Brewers declined. What possible reason would we have to keep him in that case? It's certainly not because we're competing and need to keep him because of that.

[MNBrew]

I'm still convinced Lucroy's one of the guys they should not be looking to trade.

 

Why? He's already come to the Brewers with the idea of an extension that would make him a "Brewer for life" and the Brewers declined. What possible reason would we have to keep him in that case? It's certainly not because we're competing and need to keep him because of that.

There are several more factors at play than simply those you've mentioned and many others have advanced in related discussions:

 

- Maybe he's still a guy they're serious about building around. It wouldn't be a foolish idea, though it's obviously not a slam-dunk decision at the moment, either.

- His production:salary ratio is too good for the Brewers to pass on, either.

- OR they're still interested in eventually shopping him, BUT he's under contract for a few more years, and trading him right now, with how he's producing, would be an instance of selling way too low -- which, if that proved to be the case, would send most on this board into a total tizzy on Melvin & Co. (For those who'd say Lucroy's production wouldn't matter or that selling low wouldn't be the case, just look at how normally-offensively-pedestrian Gerardo Parra's value is going WAY up based on being quite hot at the plate for 2 months IN SPITE OF his contract -- a salary which had some on this site suggesting, prior to this hot streak, would necessitate the Brewers chipping in cash in order to help move him!)

- Braun's 2nd extension got done WAY too early. Maybe the Brewers learned something from that in terms of the value of timing -- NOT meaning that it's foolish to extend that far into the future (I'd suggest going that far into the future, while risky, isn't necessarily always foolish), rather meaning that there's no reason that extension would've had to get done anytime this year (after all, Lucroy's offense fell right off the table with everyone else's during last fall's collapse).

- Segura didn't handle his game well after last spring's long-term extension negotiations broke off. Maybe the Brewers learned something from that about when it's the right time to deal with serious extension discussions (which the Lucroy ones weren't b/c there were no negotiations, just a proposal that the team wasn't interested in at the time -- in any case, maybe it's not just coincidence that Lucroy started off cold this year just like Segura did last year).

- MAYBE, just maybe, Melvin & the FO want Lucroy around for the remainder of his career, but Melvin's smart enough (a concession many on this site would NEVER make) to know that it may be better for Melvin's successor to work through that negotiation, especially since there's no great rush yet since Lucroy's still around for a few years.

- I still can't get past these 3 words or the present lack of solution for them: no capable replacement. Until that changes, I don't think trading Lucroy -- at least this summer -- is very wise, let alone a have-to.

 

I think way too many folks here are stuck in trade-deadline-mindset where every justifiable trade that might possibly be made had better be made. I LOVE the trade frenzy at the deadline and love it more when the Brewers are a) active and, better, b) make really good deals. That said, I think executing every single remotely justifiable trade runs a great risk of serious organizational mismanagement. The only justification for trading everyone worth anything is a complete, Astros-like tear-down, and I don't see that happening. In other words, in the end, I'd rather the Brewers make the best/right trades rather than simply the most.

 

Sorry to ramble, but you asked. You may not agree with my opinions or put much stock in my points, which of course is fine, but it's still a legit & rational viewpoint.

[Mr Southpaw]

Lucroy is worth a lot...

 

1. All Star Catcher.

2, Handles pitcher quite well.

3. Handles young pitchers better.

4. Makes only $10 mill over the next two years.

 

The Brewers can be patient with him, they have lots of options.

 

He will be worth a lot during the winter of 2015-16. Trade then.

He will be worth a lot during the summer of 2016. Trade then.

He will be worth a lot during the winter of 2016-17. Trade then.

He will be worth a lot during the summer of 2017. Trade then.

Or he will get a qualifying offer during the winter of 2017-18, accept and be a free agent, netting a draft pick.

 

The only scenario that could change this is if he gets some sort of career ending injury and nobody wishes that on anyone.

 

Reviewing my argument to another GM...I will need a boatload to unload Lucroy, you are getting points 1-4 above and getting it at a steal of a contract for over two years, then you get a premium draft pick in 2018.

[BuckyBrewer61]

The only scenario that could change this is if he gets some sort of career ending injury and nobody wishes that on anyone.

 

Or his numbers slowly decline as a near-30 catcher...as most do. Lucroy's value will almost certainly not be higher in the future than it is right now. That's why you trade him now, maybe in the offseason, but no later than that unless you think we're one of the best 4-5 teams in the NL next year, not just "we can make the playoffs if everything goes right." Part of the reason the Brewers are in their current situation is they are unwilling to trade players at their peak value, and instead hold on to them until they get less, and often little to nothing in return (McGehee, Ramirez, Lohse, Gallardo, etc)

[brewcrewdue80]

Don't see the Rays with even a 1% remote chance of wanting to trade for Lucroy. It's not in their ways of doing things. They gain in prospects and trade away ML players. Not the other way around. They don't have the SP staff in my mind to consider acquiring a ML player to make a run in the Playoffs, not a Lucroy type trade. Trading for KRod, would be in the line of what I'd see the Rays FO do. Getting a quality BP arm. But nothing more. Parra would be the next in line a utility fielder. But a Franchise Catcher or SP isn't what the Rays do. They can't afford it long term.