Baseball Daily Dose: Dose: Lucroy Turns Down Tribe
No stairway … denied. That’s how it shook out for the Indians on Sunday.
When you went to bed Saturday night, you probably thought the Indians had just acquired Jonathan Lucroy, the prize of this year’s trade deadline (unless closers who throw 100 mph are more your thing). Well wake up. It’s Monday and Lucroy is still a Brewer—for now.
So what the heck happened? The I’s were dotted, the T’s were crossed. The medical records all checked out. The only thing missing was Lucroy’s approval. His contract with the Brewers includes a partial no-trade clause, meaning he’d have to okay a deal to the Angels, Athletics, Mariners, Nationals, Padres, Tigers, Twins and, you guessed it, the Indians.
It’s fairly common for players, especially ones who have been in the league as long as Lucroy, to carry a no-trade clause. However, this wasn’t thought to be a major stumbling block as all the teams in pursuit of Lucroy—particularly the Mets, Indians and Rangers—were contenders. Lucroy has publicly acknowledged his preference to play for a winning club and the Indians certainly fit that criteria. They hold the AL’s best record at 60-42 and the second best record overall behind the NL-leading Cubs.
The deal that Milwaukee and Cleveland agreed upon Saturday night would have sent three prospects to the Brewers in exchange for Lucroy. The prospects included outfielder Greg Allen, shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang and the centerpiece, catcher Francisco Mejia. The 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic has enjoyed a breakout season, hitting .343 with nine homers and 67 RBI over 315 at-bats for Low-A Lake County and his current club, High-A Lynchburg. He extended his hitting streak to 42 games with a base hit Saturday in a win over Winston-Salem. Mejia is also known for his impressive throwing arm behind the plate.
Allen and Chang have also been strong contributors in the lower minor leagues. Allen was leading the Carolina League in steals before his promotion last week while Chang is second in the Carolina League in runs scored (72), fifth in RBI (69) and sixth in home runs (12). The deal would have been a win for both sides with Cleveland landing an All-Star at a position of need (Yan Gomes is out with a separated shoulder) and Milwaukee getting three highly regarded prospects including one who could be Lucroy’s long-term replacement.
But as you may have surmised from my extremely on-the-nose headline (subtlety has never been my strong suit), Lucroy brought the deal to a crashing halt by exercising his no-trade clause. In the end, Lucroy may have overplayed his hand. Lucroy wanted the last year of his contract voided, which would have made him a free agent after this season. This would have benefited Lucroy financially as he could certainly earn more on the open market than the $5.25 million he’s owed from his club option next year. But that was part of Lucroy’s appeal in the first place. Rather than renting him for two months, the Indians would have gotten two bites at the apple with Lucroy under team control through 2017. When the Indians balked at Lucroy’s request, the two-time All-Star dropped the hammer by vetoing the trade.
Lucroy’s trade market hasn’t dried up yet as the Rangers are still in the hunt while another team could swoop in before Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline. The Mets showed some initial interest but Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports said the team is no longer pursuing him.
If the Indians are still looking to upgrade at catcher—Chris Gimenez and Roberto Perez have been filling in for Gomes—their first call should be to Padres GM A.J. Preller. San Diego has already unloaded James Shields, Fernando Rodney, Drew Pomeranz, Melvin Upton, Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea and Matt Kemp. Now Norris is rumored to be next on the chopping block. While this may have the appearance of 76ers-level tanking, the Padres month-long fire sale has yielded some impressive prospects that could make the team a contender in a few years.
The Padres will probably take whatever they can get for Norris, who is hitting just .193 in 301 at-bats this season. Despite his lackluster batting average, Norris does boast intriguing power numbers (12 HR) while offering above average speed for a catcher (five steals this year). It’s not the Ritz, but anything is better than what Cleveland has now. Indians catchers have hit .169 this year, easily the lowest average in the major leagues at that position.
The Indians may have come up empty in their chase for Lucroy but they stayed busy Sunday by acquiring the best reliever available in Yankees left-hander Andrew Miller. Not only is Miller an improvement on Cleveland’s previous closer, Cody Allen, but he gives the team a much-needed lefty out of the pen. The price was steep as the Indians gave up four of their best minor leaguers including outfielder Clint Frazier, who was considered the Indians’ best prospect. Frazier was recently called up to Triple-A after hitting .276 with 13 HR, 48 RBI and 13 steals in 89 games for Double-A Akron. The Yankees are also getting prized left-hander Justus Sheffield, though the Tribe maintained Bradley Zimmer, who is now the team’s top remaining prospect.
The Yankees have dismantled their elite bullpen but they’ve done well to acquire young talent in their two trades this month. In addition to Frazier, the Yankees also scored shortstop Gleyber Torres in last week’s Aroldis Chapman trade. GM Brian Cashman deserves top marks for using the Yankees’ surplus of dominant relief arms and turning them into building blocks for the future. The deal opens the door for three-time All-Star Dellin Betances to finally close games for the pinstripes. The promotion is well deserved as the right-hander carries an absurd 1.68 ERA to go with an equally baffling 14.24 K/9 over his last three seasons.
To offset the loss of Miller, the Yankees scooped up Tyler Clippard in a trade with Arizona. The Yankees were able to get him at a reduced cost following a month-long slump (8.59 ERA in seven July outings), though Clippard still has All-Star pedigree and should benefit from a change of scenery. Clippard actually got his start with the Yankees, making his MLB debut with the Bombers as a starter in 2007. As photo evidence suggests, Clippard didn’t even wear his trademark glasses back then.
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AL Quick Hits: The Orioles and Mariners swapped left-handed pitchers on Sunday with Wade Miley heading to Baltimore and Ariel Miranda joining Seattle. Miley has logged at least 190 innings in each of his last four seasons … Sunday brought more bad news for the Royals. Closer Wade Davis was placed on the disabled list with a right flexor strain. That can sometimes be a precursor to Tommy John surgery … Troy Tulowitzki was diagnosed with a chip fracture in his right thumb after getting hit by a pitch on Sunday. The Blue Jays will wait a few days to see if he shows improvement before considering a stint on the disabled list … Byron Buxton left Sunday’s game early after hurting his right knee on a successful stolen base. He’ll head for an MRI on Monday … Jose Berrios will be called up to start Monday against the Indians. The 22-year-old will be taking the place of Tyler Duffey, who is headed to the bullpen … Carlos Rodon returned Sunday after missing about a month with a sprained left wrist. He looked rusty in a loss to the Twins, letting up eight hits and five runs over 6 1/3 innings … Mike Pelfrey hurled five shutout innings against the Astros but had to leave the game after his back tightened up. We should know more on his status after his MRI results come back … Huston Street’s grip on the ninth inning looks much looser after Sunday’s debacle. He blew a three-run lead as the Red Sox pummeled him for four hits and five runs in only 2/3 of an inning. Street has pitched to an ugly 6.45 ERA over 26 outings this year.
NL Quick Hits: Homer Bailey scattered four hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings Sunday in a win over the Padres. It was Bailey’s first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year … Colin Rea was placed on the disabled list after suffering a sprained right elbow Saturday in his Marlins debut. He’ll head for an MRI on Monday … Andrew Cashner’s first outing as a Marlin was a success. The right-hander (who is now beardless) limited the Cardinals to four hits and two runs (one earned) over six innings in a no-decision. Miami later won on a walk-off, pinch-hit triple by Derek Dietrich … Ichiro Suzuki is still sitting on 2,998 hits. He popped up to first base in a pinch-hitting appearance Sunday versus St. Louis … Aledmys Diaz left Sunday’s game with a bruised right hand after getting hit by a pitch in the first inning. He’ll be reevaluated on Monday … Bud Norris threw just 13 pitches before leaving Sunday’s start because of back tightness. The Dodgers did fine without him, cruising to a 14-3 victory over Arizona. The injury is considered minor and Norris should be able to make his next start … The Cubs sent Brian Matusz to the mound Sunday to make his first start since 2012. The left-hander yielded six runs, six hits and a pair of walks before bowing out after three innings … Asdrubal Cabrera suffered a strained patellar tendon in his left knee while running the bases on Sunday. Most of the Mets’ infield is hurt right now with Jose Reyes (oblique), David Wright (neck) and Lucas Duda (back) all on the disabled list. It looks like Cabrera could be headed there next … Yoenis Cespedes sat out Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game for “precautionary reasons.” His quad is still bothering him and he could be headed to the disabled list soon if he doesn’t improve quickly … Trevor Story wasn’t in the lineup Sunday against the Mets. Story jammed his left thumb on Saturday but his X-rays came back negative and he shouldn’t miss more than a couple games.
