MLB Trade Deadline: Texas Rangers Acquire Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress


After vetoing a trade to the Cleveland Indians, All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy, in perhaps the biggest deal of the 2016 MLB Trade Deadline, has found a new home.

The Milwaukee Brewers sent Lucroy and closer Jeremy Jeffress to the Texas Rangers in exchange for outfielder Lewis Brinson, pitcher Luis Ortiz, and a player to be named later. It was believed that top prospect Joey Gallo would have to be included in any potential deal for Lucroy, but that was not the case.

Lucroy, 30, strengthens a now-potent Rangers offense — which also added veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran earlier in the day. In 95 games with the Brewers this season, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette product has slashed 0.299/0.359/0.482 with 13 home runs and 50 runs batted in, earning his second All-Star nod.

Since his first full season in 2011, Lucroy has been one of the best offensive catchers in baseball and possesses a career 0.284/0.342/0.436 slash line. He led the National League with 53 doubles in 2014 — earning his first career All-Star appearance — while hitting 0.301/0.373/0.465 with 13 long balls and 69 RBIs. While injuries limited him to 103 games last season, Lucroy has rebounded to his pre-injury form this year.

Adding Lucroy is an upgrade over the Rangers’ current catching tandem of Robinson Chirinos and Bobby Wilson — one of whom will likely be designated for assignment. Also, with Lucroy’s contract containing a team option for $5 million next season, it’s a safe bet he will return to Texas on a team-friendly rate.

Jeffress, 28, has bounced around the league with the Brewers, Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays since 2010. He was a part of the deal that brought Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt to the Brewers as he, along with Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, and Jake Odorizzi, went to the Royals.

This season, the South Boston, Virginia, native has settled in as a solid late-inning relief option. In 47 games, Jeffress sports a 2.22 ERA with 27 saves in 44-and-two-thirds innings. Jeffress is arbitration-eligible next season and will not hit free agency until 2020 at the earliest, meaning that he comes with three years of team control.

Brinson, 22, is a former first-round pick (29th overall) in the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Coral Springs High School. Rated as the No.16 prospect by both MLB.com and Baseball America prior to 2016, Brinson has struggled with the bat at Double-A, slashing 0.237/0.280/0.431 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 77 games.

While he’s been praised for his power and defense, Brinson’s contact ability is currently his biggest question mark.

“In this case, we believe being able to acquire two premium prospects in Lewis Brinson and Ortiz was the right way to go, and another player to be named,” Brewers general manager David Stearns said (via Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel). “That meant packaging two very good, talented players together but we’re certainly very happy with the return that generated.”

Ortiz, 20, is the other known commodity heading to Milwaukee. A former first-round pick (30th overall) out of Sanger High School in the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft, Ortiz is a 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-hander. He was rated the No.64 prospect in the game by Baseball America and No.74 by MLB.com heading into the 2016 campaign.

[Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images]

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