The Rockies have acquired catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the Rangers.
Interestingly enough, Lucroy was traded to the Indians last year in July but vetoed the deal. He was then traded to the Rangers. At the time, he was among the best offensive catchers in baseball. He fetched the Brewers are good prospect haul that included center fielder Lewis Brinson. To be fair, reliever Jeremy Jeffress was also going to Texas in the deal, but Lucroy was the big fish.
Things have changed a bit for Lucroy this year. He's hitting just .242/.297/.338 with four home runs after hitting .292/.355/.500 with 24 homers last season.
Of course, perhaps the move to the National League and Coors Field will help Lucroy get back to his old ways.
Lucroy will hit free agency after the season and could still land a big payday if he finishes strong.
As for the Rockies, they entered Sunday in playoff position in the NL, but they do have some holes. Among them, getting offense from behind the plate. The Rockies catchers heading into Sunday were hitting .231/.312/.305 as a group. Tony Wolters has gotten the bulk of the playing time with Ryan Hanigan mostly as the backup. Tom Murphy started the year on the disabled list and was 1 for 20 when the Rockies sent him back down to the minors. Dustin Garneau has also spent time behind the dish for them.
Quite simply: This was a big need. With Lucroy being a rental and having a down offensive year, all he cost the Rockies is a player to be named later. Those generally don't end up being huge prospects, so this looks like a very good maneuver for the Rockies.