Report: Indians talking with Brewers about Lucroy
The Cleveland Indians may be looking to make an All-Star upgrade behind the plate.
Cleveland is reportedly talking with the Milwaukee Brewers about catcher Jonathan Lucroy, sources told Buster Olney of ESPN.
It's unclear what might be sent to Milwaukee in return, but it would likely take a big haul to grab the 30-year-old, who's been highly coveted by several teams as the Brewers have shifted into rebuild mode.
The first-place Indians' need at catcher became all the more apparent when Yan Gomes separated his shoulder earlier this week; he could miss at least two months. In addition to filling that hole, acquiring Lucroy could also help offset Michael Brantley's prolonged absence after he suffered a setback this week.
Lucroy joining the Tribe may not be so simple, though. The Indians' primary focus remains finding bullpen upgrades, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, though help at catcher is one area they're apparently continuing to eye from afar. General manager Chris Antonetti reiterated the team intends to cover Gomes' absence with the catching tandem of Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez for the time being.
"(Catcher is) not an area we're focused on right now," Antonetti told Bastian on Tuesday. "We believe in the guys that we have. Both Roberto and Chris have great familiarity with out pitchers and both have done a very good job of leading the staff when they've been asked to do so."
Lucroy is making $4 million this season, and has a $5.25-million option on his contract for 2017. He's hitting .305/.362/.494 with 12 home runs.