The Detroit Tigers are no longer in the bidding for All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy according to reports.
Jonathan Lucroy, one of the prized players who will be moved ahead of the August 1 trade deadline, will not be coming to the Detroit Tigers. Jerry Crasnick and Jayson Stark, both of ESPN, are reporting that the Tigers have exited the bidding for the All-Star catcher.
The #Tigers are "not involved'' on Jonathan Lucroy, says a source. So that's another team to scratch off the list.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 29, 2016
Scratch one more team from the pursuit of Jonathan Lucroy. Sources say the Tigers are now out of that derby.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 29, 2016
This revelation is not entirely surprising. Lucroy, who remains under club control with an affordable option year for 2017 was going to command a strong return package of prospects. The Tigers have a thin farm system and thus would have had to put together a deal based on quantity rather than quality, a deal which wouldn’t have been appealing to either side.
Crasnick also points out that Lucroy has a partial no-trade clause that includes trades to the Tigers.
The 8 teams Lucroy can block a trade to: #Indians, #Tigers, #Angels, #Twins, #Athletics, #Padres, #Mariners, #Nationals.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 29, 2016
No-trade clauses generally exist as a bargaining tool which means the Tigers would have had to chip in additional resources to get Lucroy to waive his rights. In this case that might mean a guaranteed contract extension to significantly raise his $5.25 million 2017 salary or a voiding of his club option for 2017 entirely which would him a free agent at the end of the season.
Either scenario would be prohibitive for the Tigers who couldn’t afford to either (1) give up a major haul for a two-month rental player or (2) spend big money on another free agent that would take him well into his 30s.
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In the end the Tigers simply can’t compete with other clubs when it comes to trades involving major top-flight prospects. The Tigers system has been worn thin over the years as they’ve continually dipped into the system to acquire major league talent.