The Texas Rangers have acquired All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for two top prospects and a player to be named. Reliever Jeremy Jeffress also heads to Texas in the deal.
This comes just a day after Lucroy himself vetoed a deal to the Cleveland Indians. With the Rangers not one of the teams on his no-trade list, Lucroy was forced to accept the deal.
Lucroy, 30, is hitting .299 with 13 homers and 50 RBI on the season. He also boasts a .359 on-base percentage and .851 OPS.
The backstop entered Monday's action as the second-best fantasy catcher behind only Buster Posey. He also ranks third among catchers in fantasy consistency on the season.
In a sign that Lucroy should find a way to continue his excellent fantasy performance, he's now heading to an American League stadium that's among the most hitter friendly in the game. Considering the catcher is posting a .357 BABip away from Milwaukee on the season, that's only magnified further.
Not to be outdone here, Milwaukee did add two of the top-three players in the Rangers organization in this deal. Outfielder Lewis Brinson, 22, was hitting at a .237 clip with 11 homers and 40 RBI in Double-A Frisco at the time of the trade. 20-year-old starter Luis Ortiz has split time between Single-A and Double-A this year. He was a first-round pick of the Rangers back in 2014.
Neither player fits into Milwaukee's short-term plans, but they are definitely worth keeping an eye on moving forward.