Lucroy vetoes proposed trade to Indians

Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy has exercised his no-trade clause to veto a deal that would have sent him to the Cleveland Indians, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The proposed trade had the All-Star backstop going to Cleveland in exchange for catching prospect Francisco Mejia (the Indians' No. 6 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline), shortstop prospect Yu-Cheng Chang, outfielder Greg Allen, and right-hander Shawn Armstrong. Lucroy, however, had the first-place Indians as one of eight teams on his limited no-trade list, allowing him to veto the deal.

Sources told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports that Lucroy asked the Indians not to exercise his $5.25-million club option for 2017 as a condition to his accepting the deal, effectively making him a rental player. Cleveland reportedly refused, prompting Lucroy to turn the deal down.

Cleveland apparently wasn't willing to guarantee Lucroy playing time behind the plate in 2017, when incumbent starting catcher Yan Gomes - who's currently on the disabled list - would have returned at full health, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported. Had he accepted the deal and remained in Cleveland beyond October, the Indians reportedly planned to go with Gomes at catcher next season while using Lucroy at first base and DH with only limited catching duties, something that could have hurt the 30-year-old in free agency.

Gomes is under contract with the Indians until 2019 with club options for 2020 and 2021. Before he was injured earlier this month, however, the former Silver Slugger winner was having a subpar season at the plate.

In a brief session with reporters in Milwaukee Sunday, Lucroy explained that he stayed up through the night debating his options, ultimately choosing to void it because "circumstances came up."

"You're dealing with life-changing and altering decisions," he said. "In my eyes, we had to look out for our (best) interests."

With the Indians trade apparently off the table, several teams could jump to the front of the sweepstakes to acquire the 30-year-old, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, who apparently discussed him with the Brewers, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The New York Mets, who offered a package that included catcher Travis d'Arnaud, could also get back in the mix, as could the Texas Rangers.

The Indians did pull off one blockbuster trade Sunday, acquiring All-Star reliever Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees for a package of four prospects.