Angels sign C Jonathan Lucroy to 1yr/$3.35M deal

[2112]

A very odd thread.  

 

My 2 cents.  

Remember when the Angels signed a outfielder for way too much money and he didn’t perform and another team signed a journeyman that went on to have a decent season at a fraction of the price? This signing could be like that. 

Grandal could decline, Realmuto could never realize his potential, you never know.  

[arch stanton]

Lucroy's put on a lot of miles back there. Maybe an extra 10-15 off days will help his overall game

[Lou]

7 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Lucroy's put on a lot of miles back there. Maybe an extra 10-15 off days will help his overall game

I agree. asking him to catch in 75% of the games last year was ridiculous 

[HaloNArizona]

The best part about this deal, as so many others....they are all one year deals.  We will still have a hole at catcher next year...but this is not a long term deal that will haunt us.  

I'm not sold on Lucroy as many others are....hoping for the best.

[ettin]

12 hours ago, arch stanton said:

Lucroy's put on a lot of miles back there. Maybe an extra 10-15 off days will help his overall game

 

5 hours ago, Lou said:

I agree. asking him to catch in 75% of the games last year was ridiculous 

They should ensure that he is in a proper 70/30 split. Basically make sure he gets in when playing against any RHP's and let Smith/Briceno pick up all of the at-bat's against LHP's.

[disarcina]

a good pick up and should help the Angels offensively from the catcher's position -- a place they've had offensive weakness since perhaps -- should I say it ?-- Mike Napoli.

Still - IMO - Lucroy at this point is more of a platoon catcher/ DH guy, Not a bad combo for AL rosters,

I have long thought that guys like the now retired Napoli (don't think he's spending any energy trying to get together with his now retired former manager, Sosh) are great for AL roster as a third string type catcher for those extra inning games and other times, DH, 1B and perhaps LF.

To me Lucroy is like that - but a little bit better defensively but not great. Don't think he can Cath more than 85 games in the season and 100 may be a stretch.

Martin Maldonando is still un-signed,  Houston signed McCann to catch.

I still Halos should look at bringing Maldonado back to catch -- he makes the pitching staff better - have Maldonando catch about 85 games and Lucroy about the same.

[Inside Pitch]

Houston let McCaan go to Atlanta -- they signed the Rangers' former catcher and they still have Stassi around.

[krAbs]

 

^^What we are jokingly referring to as "English".

[disarcina]

Inside Pitch - YEP - I stand corrected. Houston signed the Texas Rangers catcher and let McCann go.

when they let McCann go -- I was sure they'd re-sign Martin Maldonado - who played well for the Astros down the stretch and made their rotation better -- but then they signed the Texas catcher who had decent offensive numbers.

I can't believe that a Gold Glove catcher like Martin Maldonado still has not signed yet.  If he has signed somewhere, I missed it,

I wouldn't mind him back with us,  Some team is going to get a quality back stop in Maldonado.

[T.G.]

 

[Hubs]

On 1/2/2019 at 11:28 PM, disarcina said:

Inside Pitch - YEP - I stand corrected. Houston signed the Texas Rangers catcher and let McCann go.

when they let McCann go -- I was sure they'd re-sign Martin Maldonado - who played well for the Astros down the stretch and made their rotation better -- but then they signed the Texas catcher who had decent offensive numbers.

I can't believe that a Gold Glove catcher like Martin Maldonado still has not signed yet.  If he has signed somewhere, I missed it,

I wouldn't mind him back with us,  Some team is going to get a quality back stop in Maldonado.

Maldonado is good defensively, but he batted : .225 / .276 / .351. That is godawful offense. I could live with the Average, but he doesn't walk either, so the OBP is terrible, and the slugging percentage means he's a singles hitter.

Check out Kevan Smith, who is currently slated to be the backup behind Lucroy and tell me you don't like that offense better.

Lucroy was bad last year in Oakland and the year previous (in Texas, but was quite good in Colorado), but in 2016, he was arguably a top three offensive catcher in Baseball.

If they limit him to 4-5 games per week, and Smith catches 2-3 games, We'll end up having Lucroy in 108, and Smith in 54, which has the potential to be a high .700 OPS season from the catching spot, something like .285 / .355 / .435 (.790 OPS) from the pair.

[Angel Oracle]

39 minutes ago, Hubs said:

Maldonado is good defensively, but he batted : .225 / .276 / .351. That is godawful offense. I could live with the Average, but he doesn't walk either, so the OBP is terrible, and the slugging percentage means he's a singles hitter.

Check out Kevan Smith, who is currently slated to be the backup behind Lucroy and tell me you don't like that offense better.

Lucroy was bad last year in Oakland and the year previous (in Texas, but was quite good in Colorado), but in 2016, he was arguably a top three offensive catcher in Baseball.

If they limit him to 4-5 games per week, and Smith catches 2-3 games, We'll end up having Lucroy in 108, and Smith in 54, which has the potential to be a high .700 OPS season from the catching spot, something like .285 / .355 / .435 (.790 OPS) from the pair.

Concur, but would be happy with even a low .700's OPS from the catcher's spot, as long as pitch framing and pitcher handling is solid. 

[Sam Sanchez]

5 hours ago, True Grich said:

 

Not a sexy pick, and wasnt great last year but he was solid in Hell or High Water.

[Erstad Grit]

Deal looks a little better consider Martin cost about the same plus 2 prospects.  

[HaloMilliVanilli]

On 1/7/2019 at 3:06 PM, Sam Sanchez said:

Not a sexy pick, and wasnt great last year but he was solid in Hell or High Water.

Preferred him in 3:10 to Yuma!

[Second Base]

I am not a big fan of thisoffseason at all, but I have to admit, bringing Jon Lucroy in looks like it's the best move any team has made at the catching position.

It's no coincidence that theA's scrub pitchers thrived under Lucroy's guidance. The Angels have actual talented pitchers that he can catch, and I think we are going to see career performances from Heaney and Skaggs.

Also, if Jose Molina, Josh Paul and Brad Ausmus are all pushing to sign him, three guys that know catching as well as anyone in the game, then we should probably listen. Billy Eppler is pretty smart too.

And then when you consider his numbers away from Oakland and his successful past as a hitter, you're also getting the off chance that he returns to previous all-star levels. Bringing in his old coach to help him figure things out certainly doesn't hurt either.

It is a great deal for the Angels, and I would not be surprised if it went extremely well and they extended him for 2-3 more years.

[bloodbrother]

On 12/29/2018 at 5:17 AM, CanadianHalo said:

lol at anyone who can objectively look at this roster and actually think we’ll compete this season.

Not sure how Trout doesn’t let these last couple years factor into his decision going forward. You can’t waste someone’s career and then when it’s time to sign a new deal expect him to forget all of the bad.

I agree