With the news of the Rockies acquiring right-handed reliever Pat Neshek still fresh, the Rockies have already moved onto their next target. Bob Nightengale is reporting that Texas Rangers catcher Jonathan Lucroy is the team’s next desired acquisition.
While the Rockies started spring training with hopes that Tom Murphy and Tony Wolters would take the next step in their MLB development and become a formidable catching duo, things didn’t play out that way. Murphy broke his arm in spring training and struggled to find his swing after finally joining the Rockies in the middle of June. Wolters started the season hitting the ball well, but his bat has completely disappeared. Perhaps even more worrisome, his expertise at framing has also vanished this season.
Targeting a rental like Lucroy could signal that the Rockies are still hopeful that the young duo will still be the team’s long-term future but that they want to provide some reinforcements for this season. Lucroy has struggled with the Rangers this season after being a force for them after being acquired from the Brewers last trade deadline. Lucroy has a long track record of superior performance that could give hope to an acquiring team that he would bounce back and be a plus bat in the lineup down the stretch again this season.
Because of his struggles this season, and also the fact that he’s a free agent after this season, the acquisition cost of Lucroy in the current market could be extremely cheap. At first glance, one of the Rockies prospects in the 20-30 range together with a low-level flyer may be all it would take to acquire him.
The Rockies definitely don’t appear to be done making trades before Monday’s deadline so this could be an exciting for Rockies fans. Purple Row will continue to provide updates and analysis on all the rumors and transactions.