On October 5, 2016, David Stearns took over as the ninth General Manager in Milwaukee Brewers history. He was formerly the Assistant General Manager of the Houston Astros, and his hiring signified a new era of Brewers baseball. Stearns has brought with him a new school philosophy from the sabermetrically-inclined Houston front office. He and his colleagues had a busy offseason, completing 9 trades and revamping the major league team and the farm system.

There were plenty of articles written over the offseason speculating on his next moves. One of the players that was mentioned over and over was Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Most industry insiders assumed that Lucroy would be moved to restock Milwaukee’s middling prospect pool. Lucroy was even quoted saying he did not want to play for the rebuilding Brewers before changing his tune prior to Spring Training. It was reported that Stearns’ asking price for the former All-Star was very high, but the speculation persisted.

As it turns out Lucroy was never traded, and it was David Stearns’ best decision of the offseason. While Lucroy was an All-Star in 2014 along with setting the MLB record for doubles by a catcher, he had a less than stellar 2015 season. He hit .264/.326/.391 with 7 home runs and an OPS+ of 95 in 103 games while battling injuries throughout the year. So, while Lucroy was one of the best catchers on the market this offseason, his value was nowhere near as high as it was after 2014. Stearns could have traded Lucroy anyways, cashing in on any value he had at that point, but instead he showed patience.

That patience has paid off so far. Through 45 games this year, Lucroy already has matched last year’s home run total and has increased his slash line to .280/.343/.476 with a OPS+ of 117.

Year Tm G AB HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 2015 MIL 103 371 7 43 .264 .326 .391 .717 95 2016 MIL 45 164 7 20 .280 .343 .476 .818 117 View Original Table

Generated 5/28/2016. Provided by Baseball-Reference.com Generated 5/28/2016.

Most importantly, Lucroy is healthy and still showing that he is an incredible defensive asset. While it is not a foregone conclusion that Lucroy will be traded before the deadline, his team friendly contract ($4M this year with a $5.25M team option next year) and his play thus far might have convinced teams to pay Stearns’ price.

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