The Red Sox announced Thursday that they have formally added the catcher. Jonathan Lucroy his group of 60-man players. Lucroy joins the group as a non-listed player and brings Boston’s total to 48 players (37 40-man roster members and 11 non-roster guests).
Lucroy, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox over the winter and reportedly restructured that deal in the past few days before being formally added to the player pool. It will give the Sox a sixth receiver, joining Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki, Jett Bandy, Juan Rye and Connor wong.
The 2019 season marked the third consecutive year of what has been a precipitous decline for Lucroy. Possibly the game’s best full receiver, Lucroy hit just .232 / .305 / .355 between the Angels and the Cubs last season and has posted a lukewarm cut of .248 / .315 / .350 in 1,263 plate appearances since on Opening Day 2017 His previously dropped shot framing skills have plummeted and are now below the league average, and Lucroy’s catch theft rate has dropped since it peaked at 39 percent in 2016 .
That said, when it comes to depth options, there is great value in bringing a two-year, 10-year Major League veteran to camp to help work with the pitching staff and provide a network of safety in case of injuries elsewhere in the catch body. Lucroy is also quite familiar with Boston Captain Ron Roenicke, who coached the Brewers 2011-15 when Lucroy was one of the club’s best players.
