Report: Cubs, Lucroy agree to deal
The Chicago Cubs agreed to a deal with veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy, sources told Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Lucroy was officially granted his unconditional release from the Los Angeles Angels earlier Wednesday. The Angels designated him for assignment last week.
Lucroy is expected to join the club ahead of Thursday's game in Cincinnati, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The club will option Taylor Davis to Triple-A in order to make room on the roster.
Because Lucroy was released and not claimed on waivers, the Angels are on the hook for what remains of his $3.35-million salary outside of a pro-rated portion of the league minimum to be covered by the Cubs, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Cubs are in desperate need of catching help after All-Star Willson Contreras landed on the injured list Monday with a hamstring injury that will sideline him for four weeks. Once Contreras went down, the Cubs were left with just two catchers - Victor Caratini and Taylor Davis - on their 40-man roster; both backstops are currently on the team's major-league roster.
Lucroy, 33, slashed .242/.310/.371 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in 74 games with the Angels this year. He missed a large portion of July due to a concussion and fractured nose he suffered in a home-plate collision.