Why did Jonathan Lucroy veto trade to Cleveland Indians?

John Buhler

Jul 6, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy (20) throws to first base on bunt by Washington Nationals center fielder Ben Revere (not pictured) in the fourth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy vetoed a trade to the Cleveland Indians despite having a chance to win a World Series. Here is why he waived it.

The Milwaukee Brewers aren’t going anywhere near the 2016 MLB postseason, as Milwaukee finds itself in fourth place in the National League Central with a 46-56 record, 15.5 games back of the first-place Chicago Cubs.

Despite revamping their minor league system the last few years, the Brewers have been shopping star players like outfielder Ryan Braun and catcher Jonathan Lucroy for some time. Both can help contending teams win a World Series. Milwaukee thought it had a deal with the Cleveland Indians in place for Lucroy, but the Brewers backstop exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed the trade. Here is why he decided to not leave former the American League contender Indians.

According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, “Lucroy rejected trade over concerns about playing time in 2017.”

Sources: Lucroy rejected trade over concerns about playing time in 2017, as @BNightengale said. #Indians did not offer financial inducement.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2016

So Lucory didn’t want to go to the 59-42 American League Central leading Indians because of potential concerns over playing time during the 2017 MLB season? That’s a bit odd, as Lucroy is a two-time National League All-Star for the Brewers and will hit 2017 MLB free agency if whatever team he plays for doesn’t exercise his 2017 team option.

The 30-year-old backstop has a .300/.360/.484 batting split with 13 home runs, 50 runs batted in, and 101 hits in 94 games this season. The catcher market is scarce and Lucroy has been a top-tier backstop for the Brewers since 2012 when he .320/.368/.513.

Though Lucroy seems like he is very much on the move during the 2016 MLB trade deadline, it is now obvious that the Brewers organization will have to do business with somebody besides the Indians, as Lucroy has no interest in playing for Cleveland down the stretch this season.

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John Buhler

John Buhler is a FanSided NCAA staff writer. He specializes in covering college football and the NFL on a national level, as well as his hometown Atlanta Braves. Nearly a decade into his writing career at FanSided, he has also written about MLB, NBA, golf, tennis and the Olympics. Buhler is a University of Georgia graduate (2012), but he spent most of his time in Athens enjoying the finer things in life than studying business management. He co-hosts the national college football podcast False Start with his FanSided colleague Cody Williams, and hosts The Blogging Dirty Podcast to hype up his beloved hometown Atlanta Falcons. In his spare time, Buhler loves singing karaoke and dominating in bar trivia.