2021 Misc. MLB News

[dlk9s]

Nah, I don't opt to cheer for an athlete's decline, especially one who I enjoyed watching when he was in Milwaukee.

[JimH5]

Surprised at how fast Jonathan Lucroy is out of baseball. That sure seemed like a swift decline. I suppose he could maybe catch on with someone for this season, just doesn't seem likely.

 

 

He's a catcher and he's (almost) 35. Not really that surprising. Just not a lot of guys can catch into their mid to late 30's and stay effective. Really takes a toll on the body.

 

Is there anything more satisfying than Lucroy’s post-Brewers career? Here’s a guy when the Brewers turned down his overture for an extension well into his 30’s, he demanded a trade because the team “wasn’t winning”, then he vetoed a trade because of the projected time behind the plate wasnt to his liking.

 

When he finally was traded, the Brewers starting to play competitive baseball, he never got the long term contract he wanted. His skills then disappeared over night, proving the Brewers wisdom in rejecting his desire for a long term contract in the first place.

 

I will always root for Lucroy. He and Carlos Gomez carried the franchise during and after the Braun suspension. He was used in team marketing and they got good publicity for all of the work he did supporting veterans--all while he was making close to the minimum salary.

 

He suffered a concussion in 2015 and probably rushed himself back, and then another one in a violent collision in 2019. He's given a lot of himself to the game and especially to the Brewers.

 

I think the team made a wise financial choice in not extending his contract, but it was pretty cold hearted, considering how much value he had given them up until that point.

[Jopal78]

I don’t know, I guess it runs me the wrong way when players disguise their gripes about their contracts as complaints about “winning”.

 

The Brewers were wise to not give him a second extension and he left town whining about money and playing time. Then he totally failed to back it up.

[homer]

One could make the argument that if Lucroy hadn't turned down that trade to the Indians, the Brewers might not have Yelich. I am not so sure Mejia would have held the same cache as Brinson did.

[Jopal78]

One could make the argument that if Lucroy hadn't turned down that trade to the Indians, the Brewers might not have Yelich. I am not so sure Mejia would have held the same cache as Brinson did.

 

Maybe but those are all what if games. By that logic had the Brewers not traded Greinke to the Angels they wouldn’t have gotten Yelich. According to MLB in 2017 they had Brinson as the #13 prospect and Mejia as #14.

[dlk9s]

NEVER FORGET

 

[stalton]

NEVER FORGET

 

 

I watch that one and Schoop's granny, quite regularly.

[jerichoholicninja]

I will always root for Lucroy. He and Carlos Gomez carried the franchise during and after the Braun suspension. He was used in team marketing and they got good publicity for all of the work he did supporting veterans--all while he was making close to the minimum salary.

 

He suffered a concussion in 2015 and probably rushed himself back, and then another one in a violent collision in 2019. He's given a lot of himself to the game and especially to the Brewers.

 

I think the team made a wise financial choice in not extending his contract, but it was pretty cold hearted, considering how much value he had given them up until that point.

 

I believe the story is the Brewers wanted to give him an extension and he wouldn't even discuss it.

 

I don't take joy in his career free falling but I can't say that it doesn't give me a little smile. For me it's all about the Cleveland trade as I found his reasons for rejecting it flat out stupid.

[nate82]

NEVER FORGET

 

 

I like Lucroy's walk off against Chapman better and I believe it was the same year?

[Jopal78]

I believe the story is the Brewers wanted to give him an extension and he wouldn't even discuss it.

 

I don't take joy in his career free falling but I can't say that it doesn't give me a little smile. For me it's all about the Cleveland trade as I found his reasons for rejecting it flat out stupid.

 

No, he proposed a second extension with the Brewers and the team turned him down.

 

https://www.mlb.com/brewers/news/brewers-jonathan-lucroy-talks-negotiations/c-137818528

 

After they turned him down, he started griping about only wanting to play for a winner and asked to be traded.

 

I never rooted for the guy to fail. Rather as fate played out the big contract he tried to maneuver himself into never worked out and that seemed right to me.

[adambr2]

I will always root for Lucroy. He and Carlos Gomez carried the franchise during and after the Braun suspension. He was used in team marketing and they got good publicity for all of the work he did supporting veterans--all while he was making close to the minimum salary.

 

He suffered a concussion in 2015 and probably rushed himself back, and then another one in a violent collision in 2019. He's given a lot of himself to the game and especially to the Brewers.

 

I think the team made a wise financial choice in not extending his contract, but it was pretty cold hearted, considering how much value he had given them up until that point.

 

I believe the story is the Brewers wanted to give him an extension and he wouldn't even discuss it.

 

I don't take joy in his career free falling but I can't say that it doesn't give me a little smile. For me it's all about the Cleveland trade as I found his reasons for rejecting it flat out stupid.

 

He didn't need a reason. He has a no-trade clause to Cleveland and he exercised it.

 

Never understood why people felt he needed to explain himself for why he chose not to go to Cleveland. Nobody asks a guy with a full NTC why he chose not to go somewhere in particular. It is their right and they earned the right to decline a specific destination in their contract just like Lucroy earned the right to say no to relocating himself to Cleveland.

 

And no the Brewers were the ones that didn't want to extend. Lucroy did.

[adambr2]

I believe the story is the Brewers wanted to give him an extension and he wouldn't even discuss it.

 

I don't take joy in his career free falling but I can't say that it doesn't give me a little smile. For me it's all about the Cleveland trade as I found his reasons for rejecting it flat out stupid.

 

No, he proposed a second extension with the Brewers and the team turned him down.

 

https://www.mlb.com/brewers/news/brewers-jonathan-lucroy-talks-negotiations/c-137818528

 

After they turned him down, he started griping about only wanting to play for a winner and asked to be traded.

 

I never rooted for the guy to fail. Rather as fate played out the big contract he tried to maneuver himself into never worked out and that seemed right to me.

 

Why did it seem right? His first deal was incredibly team friendly. Of course he wanted to try to extend before Father Time caught up to him.

 

He lost tens of millions of dollars because of bad contract timing. He was paid enormously under market for his career relative to his production.

 

He was literally asked in an interview about playing for a contender and gave an honest answer and also said that if he wasn't traded he would continue to go work hard for the Brewers. These guys can't win. If they give an honest response people are mad about their answer and if they give a canned response or don't comment people are mad about that.

[DR28]

Luc had a really good spring, some team that needs a catcher will sign him.

[Jopal78]

 

Why did it seem right? His first deal was incredibly team friendly. Of course he wanted to try to extend before Father Time caught up to him.

 

He lost tens of millions of dollars because of bad contract timing. He was paid enormously under market for his career relative to his production.

 

He was literally asked in an interview about playing for a contender and gave an honest answer and also said that if he wasn't traded he would continue to go work hard for the Brewers. These guys can't win. If they give an honest response people are mad about their answer and if they give a canned response or don't comment people are mad about that.

 

Lucroy signed an initial extension with the Brewers to get a guarantee so he was protected financially against getting injured. Going that route he forfeited the likelihood he would have made more money going year to year, especially with the seasons he ended up producing. If he didn’t contemplate potentially being seriously underpaid when he signed that first extension, then he and his agent(s) were foolish.

 

Look at the article linked, a few months after mentioning they turned down his contract request but he wasn’t complaining, he in fact asked to be traded because the team was going to rebuild. Think about that, if they would have given him the massive extension he wanted would he have complained about the team rebuilding? Of course not. Those complaints are nothing more than sour grapes.

 

When they did finally trade him he vetoed the first one because the Indians were going to play him at first base more, which he perceived would hurt his value. Cleveland won the pennant that year, illustrating again Lucroy didn’t care all that much about winning as he claimed and was more about future dollars.

[PeaveyFury]

I think you can be both sad that Lucroy's career cratered almost immediately after leaving the Brewers while being immensely relieved that it didn't happen after signing a massive 2nd extension with the Brewers. For the griping about Braun's 2nd extension, he was largely productive for most of it. A massive Lucroy deal would have been franchise-destroying.

[jerichoholicninja]

When they did finally trade him he vetoed the first one because the Indians were going to play him at first base more, which he perceived would hurt his value. Cleveland won the pennant that year, illustrating again Lucroy didn’t care all that much about winning as he claimed and was more about future dollars.

 

That's what bugged me. Apparently not catching everyday was going to hurt his value. How? That makes no sense. It's not like he was going to forget how to catch playing some games at firstbase. I think if anything it would increase his value if he could show the versatility to play another position not to mention he would save some wear on his body by not catching as much which would probably extend his career and therefore his earning potential. I really don't care if he didn't care about winning, the vast majority of professional athletes don't give a rip about the final score as long as the check clears.

[adambr2]

Lucroy did consider going to Cleveland; however, they wouldn't assure him he'd be their starting catcher in '17, which was his contract year. I certainly don't blame him for declining.

 

I've never seen a player so heavily criticized for exercising his contractual right. What exactly is the point of having NTCs worked into a contract if you're not going to leverage them?

[SeaBass]

When they did finally trade him he vetoed the first one because the Indians were going to play him at first base more, which he perceived would hurt his value. Cleveland won the pennant that year, illustrating again Lucroy didn’t care all that much about winning as he claimed and was more about future dollars.

 

That's what bugged me. Apparently not catching everyday was going to hurt his value. How? That makes no sense. It's not like he was going to forget how to catch playing some games at firstbase. I think if anything it would increase his value if he could show the versatility to play another position not to mention he would save some wear on his body by not catching as much which would probably extend his career and therefore his earning potential. I really don't care if he didn't care about winning, the vast majority of professional athletes don't give a rip about the final score as long as the check clears.

The Indians didn't win the World Series that season so by this logic I guess he should have been lobbying to be traded to the Cubs and only the Cubs.

 

The Rangers literally finished with the best record in the AL that season. Anything can happen in the playoffs.

 

A guy can want to play for a winner AND prefer a more desirable situation for his career at the same time. He got both.

 

Lucroy was a catcher, his free agent value was as a catcher, the Indians wouldn't commit to giving him playing time as a catcher and told him straight out that he'd have to compete with Yan Gomes to be the #1 catcher going into the next season. Again, not great news for a guy that needed to log a full season as a starting catcher to establish his value in free agency. Gomes had been fairly unremarkable in his career up to that point, especially compared to Lucroy's career, and went on to post a .708 OPS in 2017 for the Indians.

 

This feels really, really simple. I guess it's not real simple for everyone.

[Jopal78]

Lucroy did consider going to Cleveland; however, they wouldn't assure him he'd be their starting catcher in '17, which was his contract year. I certainly don't blame him for declining.

 

I've never seen a player so heavily criticized for exercising his contractual right. What exactly is the point of having NTCs worked into a contract if you're not going to leverage them?

 

It's like I said originally, Lucroy was a great Brewer until he started whining about money/his contract disguised as gripes about not winning. I suppose that's his right as a pro-ball player to gripe about money. After all careers are short.

 

However, as a fan I get to chuckle whenever I hear his name because of his whining and the fact his career completely flamed out about 2 months after the Brewers traded him off guaranteeing no team was going to give him the huge deal he wanted in the first place.

[adambr2]

When they did finally trade him he vetoed the first one because the Indians were going to play him at first base more, which he perceived would hurt his value. Cleveland won the pennant that year, illustrating again Lucroy didn’t care all that much about winning as he claimed and was more about future dollars.

 

That's what bugged me. Apparently not catching everyday was going to hurt his value. How? That makes no sense. It's not like he was going to forget how to catch playing some games at firstbase. I think if anything it would increase his value if he could show the versatility to play another position not to mention he would save some wear on his body by not catching as much which would probably extend his career and therefore his earning potential. I really don't care if he didn't care about winning, the vast majority of professional athletes don't give a rip about the final score as long as the check clears.

The Indians didn't win the World Series that season so by this logic I guess he should have been lobbying to be traded to the Cubs and only the Cubs.

 

The Rangers literally finished with the best record in the AL that season. Anything can happen in the playoffs.

 

A guy can want to play for a winner AND prefer a more desirable situation for his career at the same time. He got both.

 

Lucroy was a catcher, his free agent value was as a catcher, the Indians wouldn't commit to giving him playing time as a catcher and told him straight out that he'd have to compete with Yan Gomes to be the #1 catcher going into the next season. Again, not great news for a guy that needed to log a full season as a starting catcher to establish his value in free agency. Gomes had been fairly unremarkable in his career up to that point, especially compared to Lucroy's career, and went on to post a .708 OPS in 2017 for the Indians.

 

This feels really, really simple. I guess it's not real simple for everyone.

 

All this.

 

I'm guessing that for most people, relocating their livelihood and families to another area of the United States for the next couple years would be a fairly big decision and they might want control over the destination.

 

Yet for these guys we look down on them if they don't jump on the first place we try to send them even if their contract specifically says they don't have to go.

[adambr2]

Lucroy did consider going to Cleveland; however, they wouldn't assure him he'd be their starting catcher in '17, which was his contract year. I certainly don't blame him for declining.

 

I've never seen a player so heavily criticized for exercising his contractual right. What exactly is the point of having NTCs worked into a contract if you're not going to leverage them?

 

It's like I said originally, Lucroy was a great Brewer until he started whining about money/his contract disguised as gripes about not winning. I suppose that's his right as a pro-ball player to gripe about money. After all careers are short.

 

However, as a fan I get to chuckle whenever I hear his name because of his whining and the fact his career completely flamed out about 2 months after the Brewers traded him off guaranteeing no team was going to give him the huge deal he wanted in the first place.

 

Whatever gives you enjoyment, I guess.

 

As another fan I find no amusement in this, feel bad that his career fell apart so fast while at the same time being glad we didn't extend him. But I can totally understand why he wanted to be traded at that time and I'm glad we did. It worked out pretty well for us.

[RollieTime]

When I think of Lucroy, I don’t think of a single thing remotely negative surrounding his name.

[ThisIsMyCrew]

 

That’s a lot of money. Doesn’t include 2021 salary. So more of a 11 year ordeal.

[sveumrules]

Saw Eugenio Suarez made two errors at SS yesterday. Will be interesting to see how long the Reds stick with their jumbo infield alignment.

[clancyphile]

Saw Eugenio Suarez made two errors at SS yesterday. Will be interesting to see how long the Reds stick with their jumbo infield alignment.

 

The offense will be very hard to give up. In a way, I hope the Crew goes to that sometimes.