As trade rumors swirl, who may chase Lucroy?

Following an injury-riddled 2015 campaign, Jonathan Lucroy has re-established himself as one of the premier catchers in all of baseball, making the Brewers catcher a top trade target for contenders as the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline approaches.

Through 90 games and 359 plate appearances entering Monday, Lucroy is second among all catchers in slugging percentage (.491) and OPS (.853), and ranks third in WAR (2.8 according to Fangraphs), weighted runs created (122) and batting average (.301). With a team-friendly $5.25 million club option for 2017 included in his contract, Lucroy could be one of the most valuable pieces on the move over the next week, likely bringing in return to the Brewers a notable package of prospects.

Those are the figures on the 2016 All-Star, but the conversation becomes even more intriguing as you include the current market for catchers. In the American League, in particular, many of the top contenders could realistically use an upgrade at catcher as they enter the pennant chase and postseason.

Could we see Lucroy, the top catching trade target and one of the top hitters on the block, playing in one of these uniforms come August?

Indians (Catcher weighted runs created: 33): Cleveland’s backstops have posted a meager 33 wRC+ (a measure of a player’s overall offensive production on a weighted scale, where 100 is league average) this season — which is a wide 20-point margin beneath the next-worst figure in baseball. And to make matters worse, Yan Gomes hit the DL after suffering separated right shoulder on …

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