Friday, December 28, 2018

Can Lucroy Rebound Behind The Plate For The Angels?

Free agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy has signed a one year, $3.35 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

The signing would have been bigger news a couple of years ago. After finishing fourth runner in NL MVP balloting with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2014 and hitting a career high 24 HR in 2016 with the Brew Crew and Texas Rangers, Lucroy had disappointing 2017 with the Rangers and Colorado Rockies and a subpar 2018 with the Oakland A's despite their post-season presence. In 126 games with the A's this past season, Lucroy hit .241 with 4 HR and 51 RBI. He has only belted 10 HR since 2016. Lucroy, 32, has also seen his defensive skills diminish.

The Angels are counting on Lucroy on rebounding in 2019. Perhaps he won't hit 24 HR, but if he can get Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill back to old form then he could pay dividends. But if he doesn't meet expectations the Angels only have a one year commitment on him. So this isn't like trading away Mike Trout for a journeyman pitcher.

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