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Brewers holding out Jonathan Lucroy as trade talks progress
There’s a growing feeling that Jonathan Lucroy has played his final game for the Milwaukee Brewers.
That feeling was enhanced on Saturday when the Brewers elected to hold Lucroy out of their starting lineup for the second time in three days. On Thursday, it was a routine off day. On Saturday, it is clearly related to Lucroy’s trade status as the Brewers are at least protecting their asset from getting injured.
In fact, Brewers manager Craig Counsell has acknowledged that Lucroy’s off day was requested by general manager David Stearns, which supports the protect the asset theory.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“David stopped down and said he’s progressing on something and we just thought it best (Lucroy) not be in the lineup today,” Counsell said. “He has not been traded. He is available for us today and I’ll use him if something comes up and I have to use him.
“But (Stearns) is making progress so we thought it best not to play him.”
Needless to say, it would take an emergency situation for Lucroy to get into’s Saturday game. If he’s not dealt by Sunday’s game, it wouldn’t be surprising if Milwaukee called up a third catcher just to guard against needing Lucroy in any way.
This is all a part of the posturing and planning that goes into trade deadline deals, which no doubt heightens the anxiety of all involved. With Lucroy on the bench, it will also heighten the awareness of a potential “hug watch,” which would indicate a deal is done.
As for where Lucroy might land, it’s still believed nothing is in the final stages. The Mets made a push again on Saturday, but it’s reported they made no headway. Others see the Cleveland Indians as the favorite. Then again, there’s almost always a mystery team looming, so we could be in for an interesting 24-48 hours.
Stay tuned.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
