MILWAUKEE (AP) For the second straight season, the Milwaukee Brewers hit a snag while trying to trade one of their key players before the deadline.
Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy has blocked his proposed trade to Cleveland after the teams had reached a preliminary agreement on a deal sending the two-time All-Star to the Indians. Lucroy said Sunday he wasn’t going to go into the details behind his decision.
”When you are dealing with life-changing, life-altering decisions like this, there are a lot of factors that come into play, mostly family,” he said before the Brewers’ 4-2 win over the Pirates. ”The other half of that is your future in this league and your career. There are a lot of different things to take in. Whenever those things don’t line up, decisions have to be made that might be tough, but that’s the way it has to be.”
Last year, Milwaukee had a deal fall through with the Mets that would have sent Carlos Gomez to New York. Gomez was traded to Houston instead.
Milwaukee general manager David Stearns said the Brewers would move on after Lucroy refused to waive the no-trade provision in his contract. Stearns said there was no chance of re-working the deal with Cleveland.
”We know this is part of the process,” Stearns said. ”It is why we engage with multiple teams throughout the entirety of the negotiation. Jonathan elected to invoke the no-trade clause. We were aware that was a possibility.”
Cleveland, which leads the AL Central, has been looking for a catcher since Yan Gomes separated his shoulder.
The 30-year-old Lucroy is batting .299 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs. He has a $4 million salary this year as part of a contract that includes a $5.25 million team option for 2017.
Lucroy said simply that there were ”circumstances that came up” that caused him to block the deal.
”I’m not going to comment on any specifics, nothing like that, as much as I’d like to,” he said. ”I’m respecting their process and what the Brewers are trying to do in terms of the trade. If that’s going to happen or not, I don’t know. As of right now, I’m still a Brewer and I’m going to be until somebody tells me different.”
Lucroy appeared as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning. He received a standing ovation from the Miller Park crowd, then flied out to right field in what could be his final appearance for the Brewers.
The deadline for trades without waivers is Monday.
”I still expect the next 36 hours to be interesting and eventful,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. ”Luc has been here for six years, so having him here is business as usual.”
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