The Texas Rangers have officially picked u p the $5.25 million contract option for Jonathan Lucroy, according to Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball.
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegraph confirmed the report.
General manager Jon Daniels noted the team would make the move in early October, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, and it is now confirmed.
The Rangers acquired the catcher in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers before the deadline, a move that only came after he vetoed a deal that would have sent him to the Cleveland Indians.
Despite Cleveland's playoff run, he had no regrets with his decision.
"I'm good, man,'' Lucroy told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN in October. "There's too much drama with all that. I'm not worried about it at all. It's over with and in the past.''
Between his time with the Brewers and Rangers, the 30-year-old player batted .292 in 2016 with 82 RBI and a career high with 24 home runs. He was also selected to his second All-Star game, his first time coming in 2014 when he finished fourth in the MVP voting.
The catcher helped solidify the lineup in Texas as the squad went 33-22 over the final two months of the regular season, ending up with the best record in the American League.
While the team fell short in the ALDS, the Rangers return many key players from the recent run and will likely be top contenders once again. As long as Lucroy can stay healthy, he will be a big part of the team's success over the course of the upcoming year before becoming a free agent in 2017.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments