Colorado Rockies rumors: Houston Astros interested in Jonathan Lucroy?

It has been said that the Colorado Rockies will try to re-sign catcher Jonathan Lucroy to shore up the position. However, with news coming out of the Major League Baseball GM meetings in Orlando, it appears that the Rockies will have some tough competition if they want to make that happen.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweeted on Wednesday morning that the defending World Champion Houston Astros were interested in acquiring Lucroy in the offseason, along with other teams of course. Heyman mentioned in the tweet that Lucroy does not live far from Houston. Also, knowing the Astros are expected to be right back in the mix for the World Series in 2018 would seemingly be important for the 31-year-old Lucroy as he told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post he is very interested in getting a world championship.

“Look, I’m a 31-year-old catcher, so I have to get going. I want a ring, or two, or three. And I think the opportunity is definitely here for that to happen.”

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The “here” of course is Colorado, a team that grabbed Lucroy at the trade deadline this past season and were rewarded for their efforts. In the 46 games he played with the Rockies, Lucroy slashed .310/.429/.437 and also walked 27 times in 175 plate appearances. The change in atmosphere was apparent for Lucroy, who posted a .242/.297/.338 line with the Texas Rangers in 77 games before being traded to the Rockies in late July.

However, Lucroy’s value to the Rockies was not just at the plate in 2017. It was behind the plate as well. The veteran catcher was credited by both Colorado manager Bud Black and several pitchers as integral to the team’s success as the run to the postseason got down to the wire in August and September. With Colorado’s young pitching staff, the veteran presence of Lucroy was not only a calming factor but also sped along the learning process for rookie pitchers such as Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez.

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Colorado will certainly make a play to keep Lucroy behind the plate in 2018 and perhaps beyond, likely relying on the catcher’s statistical success and meshing with the young pitching staff as their biggest allies. However, if a team like the Astros seriously pursues Lucroy and offers him a full-time position behind the plate, Colorado’s chances for keeping the catcher will become much more unpredictable.