The A's and Jonathan Lucroy: A Perfect Marriage

Jonathan Lucroy is one of a handful of star free agents still sitting out on the open market and to this point, there has been virtually no mention of any team being connected to him. Lucroy, who turns 32 in June, started last season with the Texas Rangers before being traded at the deadline to the Colorado Rockies.

Lucroy has always been commended for his stellar clubhouse leadership, his ability to lead a pitching staff, and doesn't just know how to catch, he can also hit as well. During Lucroy's 8-year MLB career, he has hit: .281/.343/.433 in 3,786 plate appearances with 960 hits, 96 home runs, 458 RBI, 30 stolen bases, 310 walks, and 542 strikeouts. While he has regressed from a defensive standpoint, he still is valuable as illustrated by his career 20.2 WAR.

While all of those things are shiny, the one thing that is making teams hesitant to sign Lucroy is the fact that he ranked last among catchers last season in framing runs with a -17.7 value. However, just the year before in 2016, Lucroy had a pitch framing value of 4.0, which put him 24th on the list among 104 catchers. For comparisons sake, in 2015, he had a 1.1 pitch framing value, good enough for 28th place among 109 catchers league wide.

Knowing that his pitch framing basically cratered last season could turn some teams off, but you have to think that since he will turn 32 this coming June, there is still something left in his tank. Maybe a change of scenery would do him good? If that's the case, then the Oakland Athletics need to seriously consider locking him up given their lack of a veteran catcher behind the dish.

As it stands right now, Bruce Maxwell, would be the A's Opening Day catcher even though he has only caught in 109 games at the big league level. Behind Maxwell is Josh Phegley, who had a 2.7 pitch framing value last season, but a well below zero pitch framing value in 2015 and 2016. In addition, from a durability standpoint, there are a few question marks about Phegley, who suffered with a strained left oblique, that put him on the shelf for a little over a month last season, and a cyst in his right knee, the year before.

On the other hand, Jonathan Lucroy has had a very clean injury history the past two seasons and the last time he spent time on the DL was in 2015 with a broken left big toe. That injury put Lucroy on the shelf for about a month and a half. Before that, the last time Lucroy spent time on the DL was in 2011 so from a durability standpoint, odds are in Lucroy's favor that he will stay on the field. Granted, he is getting older, but whatever he is doing to prepare for the season and stay conditioned once the regular season has started is obviously working.

Beyond that factor, another reason why the A's could use, Jonathan Lucroy, is to have a veteran leader within a clubhouse made up of primarily young players. The A's have 11 players born after 1992 and the A's projected starting rotation is all under 30 years of age meaning that even the rotation could use a veteran leader like Lucroy whose been around the league for a while. Although the A's have veterans like, Khris Davis and Brandon Moss in the clubhouse now, you can't go wrong with adding another one and someone whose been to the postseason 3 different times during his career.

If Lucroy still doesn't seem like a perfect fit for the Oakland Athetlics, then consider the fact that he's familiar with playing in the AL West and the dynamics that go into catching at the five different big league parks in the division. Jonathan Lucroy spent the 2nd half of the 2016 season and the first half of last season with the Texas Rangers and got experience catching in his home stadium and hitter friendly, Globe Life Park, as well as in pitcher friendly Safeco Field along with Minute Maid Park, The Coliseum, and Angel Stadium.

Finally from an offensive perspective, signing Jonathan Lucroy would make a lot of sense for the A's as well. Oakland could pair Lucroy with Josh Phegley, who has been their most productive hitting catcher the past few seasons, and add another bat to go along with Khris Davis, Matt Olson, and Matt Chapman. Let's take a look at where Lucroy's offense stands from a league wide perspective the past three seasons.

In terms of Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+), Jonathan Lucroy is tied with J.T. Realmuto in that span with a 101 value for 7th place among active catchers. Furthermore, Lucroy ranks fourth during that period with a .343 on-base percentage and his 6.9 WAR is good enough for 5th place on the list. If you go back even further to 2013, Jonathan Lucroy is tied for second with a wRC+ value of 112 in that span and is third on the list with a .350 on-base percentage. So the track record is certainly there from an offensive standpoint.

Even if the A's were to sign Jonathan Lucroy to a one-year deal that included a possible second-year option, it would be better than simply going into this season with only Bruce Maxwell and Josh Phegley. Not only would it add more depth to the position, it would give Maxwell a chance to continue to develop down in Triple-A and would give the A' s a proven veteran leader and bat for their big league club. Who knows, if Lucroy exceeds expectations, then he could always have his option picked up or Oakland could look to extend him giving them another solid piece to build around moving forward.