Jonathan Lucroy

[Brandon Glick]

Jonathan Lucroy is a former professional baseball catcher who spent 12 years in MLB, including part of the 2019 season with the Chicago Cubs.

Known by most as a fundamental piece of the 2010's Milwaukee Brewers, Lucroy was originally a collegiate star for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns before being selected in the third round of the 2007 MLB Draft. Though he never emerged as a top prospect, it wasn't long before Lucroy usurped Gregg Zaun and George Kottaras as the Brewers' starting catcher. He made his MLB debut in 2010 and by 2011, Lucroy was the unquestioned starting backstop in Wrigley North.

Admittedly, Lucroy was great with the Brewers during his tenure. From 2010 through the 2016 trade deadline, Lucroy hit .284/.342/.436 in 805 games. He was worth 17.2 WAR while making the NL All-Star team in both 2014 and 2016, with the former campaign representing a high-water mark for Lucroy. That season, he finished fourth in NL MVP voting while batting .301/.373/.465 with a league-leading 53 doubles. Alongisde Ryan Braun and Price Fielder, he was one of the faces of the franchise during some lean years in Milwaukee.

Funnily enough, Lucroy was never all that effective against the Cubs. In 85 career games against the North Siders (a majority with Milwaukee), Lucroy hit just .213 with seven home runs. That certainly didn't prevent him from being one of the best all-around catchers in baseball with the Brewers, but it's the truth that Chicago knew how to stymie him in a way that most other teams didn't.

By the 2016 trade deadline, Lucroy wanted to be moved to a contender, and so the Texas Rangers acquired him (alongside reliever Jeremy Jeffress). That began the journeyman phase of the backstop's career, as he would spend time with the Rangers (2016-17), Rockies (2017), Athletics (2018), and Angels (2019) over the next few seasons. His tenure in Los Angeles ended in an unfortunate way, as a collision with Jake Marisnick at the plate send him to the injured list, and the Angels effectively replaced him on the roster.

After being released in early August, Lucroy found a home for the remainder of the 2019 season with the Cubs. Chicago was navigating a tumultuous catcher position that year, as Willson Contreras was hurt, Martin Maldonado was traded to the Astros at the trade deadline, and Victor Caratini was forced into regular playing time. Both Derek Holland and Cole Hamels—who Lucroy caught while with the Rangers—had vouched for his signing.

Lucroy ultimately wound up receiving sparse playing time with the Cubs at both catcher and first base as the team flamed out and missed the postseason for the first time in five years. In 27 games (60 plate appearances) with the team, he hit .189/.283/.283 with just three extra-base hits, accruing -0.4 WAR. Like manager Joe Maddon, who was a big fan of the veteran catcher, Lucroy moved on from the Cubs that offseason.

Following his time with the Cubs, Lucroy received sparse playing time with the Red Sox, Nationals and Braves. He would ultimately retire during the 2022 season, and was subsequently inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor.

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