Jonathan Lucroy explains why he rejected a trade to the Indians
Indians fans were shocked when Jonathan Lucroy vetoed a trade to Cleveland prior to the nonwaiver deadline. And now Lucroy is detailing that decision.
The Brewers and Indians agreed to a deal for Lucroy this past Saturday, yet Lucroy now plays for the Rangers. He spoke with ESPN’s Robert Sanchez about the whirlwind of his first experience being traded and the tough decisions he had to make:
My agent, Doug Rogalski, found out it was the Indians that traded for me. I was surprised, but I wanted to keep an open mind. Great team. Competitive team. There's a real chance to win. Doug called Chris Antonetti, the Indians' president. There was one thing we wanted to know: What was my future with the Indians? We knew Cleveland already had a good catcher, Yan Gomes, who's injured right now. He's getting paid more than me, and he's younger than me. We knew they'd probably want him catching almost every day next year. Heck, if I were the general manager in Cleveland, I'd want Gomes catching every day.
We were right. Antonetti told Doug that the Indians couldn't make any promises on me catching next season. There was no way they'd drop the team option, either, because I'm pretty inexpensive in 2017. I don't blame them. I would have been mostly at first base and designated hitter. In the end, that was the deal killer. Doug called me. He said, You're not going there.
Cleveland fans don't like that part, but it's nothing against them. it wasn't personal. If anything, I have even more respect for the Indians because of Antonetti's honesty. He could have lied to my agent and said I'd play catcher every day next season. But he didn't. He told the truth. I'm thankful for that. My decision not to go to Cleveland had nothing to do with the team, but it had everything to do with my future in this game. It was an economic decision. Period.
Lucroy then detailed how the trade to the more catcher-needy Rangers materialized – he was in the airport when he got the news – and expressed his excitement about being in a pennant race again.
Who knows, he might even end up facing the Indians in October.
