Jonathan Lucroy may be traded… or maybe not

Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy is a hot commodity this trade season. Talented catchers are always in demand, and Lucroy fits that description to a T. He’s hitting .305/.362/.492 with 12 homers, bouncing back very nicely from a subpar 2015. There are more than a few teams who want — or need — those kind of numbers in their lineup.

You can watch Lucroy (in what could be one of his last few games with the team that drafted him) and the Brewers face off against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, and you can stream it on Yahoo Sports because it’s the MLB Free Game of the Day. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m., and you can watch live on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home, in this very post or on the Yahoo Sports app. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 17: Jonathan Lucroy #20 of the Milwaukee Brewers chases a wild pitch that allowed Billy Hamilton of the Cincinnati Reds to score the winning run in the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park on July 17, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds defeated the Brewers 1-0. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) — (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

There’s one possible suitor that has risen to the top of the Lucroy list, and that’s the Cleveland Indians.

Sources: CLE in talks for MIL's Jonathan Lucroy. Perhaps Brantley's situation has pushed them to add a hitter & consider upgrade at catcher.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 20, 2016

Their catcher situation hasn’t been great all season, and Lucroy would be a definite upgrade. When Yan Gomes was healthy, he was hitting just .165. Now he’s on the DL with a separated shoulder, so that number won’t be getting any higher for awhile. (Though at least it won’t get any lower.) Cleveland’s other catcher, Michael Brantley, was on his way back from offseason shoulder surgery when he started to feel discomfort in his shoulder again, so his return is absolutely in question. Despite that, Ken Rosenthal says that the Indians are looking to upgrade elsewhere.

Still hearing that #Indians above all want to upgrade bullpen. Gomes might be back, signed through ’19. Perez-Gimenez combo sufficient at C.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 21, 2016

There are other possible trade partners as well if Rosenthal is right and the Indians aren’t interested in acquiring Lucroy. The Braves are reportedly looking to solve their catching conundrum since A.J. Pierzynski isn’t the player he used to be. And even though the Rangers have declared that pitching is their number one priority, just 10 days ago Rosenthal wrote about a bevy of scouts at a Rangers Class-A game, musing that a Lucroy trade is a possibility.

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Of course, there are a few things standing in the way of a Lucroy trade: desire and cost. The Brewers may not want to trade Lucroy at all, considering that he’s signed through 2017 and his contract is ridiculously affordable ($5.25 million). But his contract may be why he isn’t traded. Since it’s so affordable, the Brewers would want a pretty big haul. And even though Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox, gave up their organization’s No. 4 prospect to acquire Drew Pomeranz, that doesn’t mean that every organization is willing to part with a piece of their future to gain some improvement in the present.

So at this point, who knows if Lucroy is going anywhere. But that’s true of all trade targets right now. All any fan can do is enjoy them while they’re around, and try not to get dizzy from the constant, unceasing trade rumors.

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