Rangers Acquire Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress at Trade Deadline

The Rangers were able to keep several of their other top young players, including Jurickson Profar, Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo, out of the deal.

Lucroy vetoed a trade with the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, saying the decision was based on family and a desire for a long-term commitment.

Sports first reported Monday afternoon just before the 4 p.m. trade deadline that Lucroy is headed to the Texas Rangers. Cleveland was among eight teams on Lucroy’s no-trade list and he was concerned about playing time next season with the Indians.

A five-run fifth inning helped lift the San Diego Padres to a 7-3 win over the Brewers Monday night in San Diego.

In return, Milwaukee obtained outfielder Lewis Brinson, a 22-year-old former first-round pick (29th overall in 2012), who is considered the 16th-best prospect in baseball this season; and 20-year-old right-hander Luis Ortiz, the Rangers’ first-round choice (20th overall) in 2014. Hamels is 19-3 with 3.15 ERA in 33 starts since then, and his three-hitter on the final day of the 2015 regular season clinched the division title. That fits right in with his production between 2012 and 2014. d’Arnaud flashed that kind of ability past year, as he hit.268/.340/.485 with a 131 wRC+ in 268 plate appearances, with most of his success coming after he returned from his second stint on the disabled list. Milwaukee also received a player to be named later, which could be a significant piece, given the value of Lucroy and Jeffress.

The 30-year-old catcher is hitting.299 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI through 95 games in 2016, earning his second All-Star nomination. His six-year career in the major league has all been spent with the Brewers, where he hit.284 in 805 games. “Really excited and can’t wait to get after it!” he posted on Twitter.

“You will always have a special place in our hearts!”

Jeffress had 26 saves with a 2.27 ERA in 46 appearances for Milwaukee this season. Jeffress will either close or setup for current closer Sam Dyson.

Most people would consider Lucroy to be the prize of this deal and they would be right, but we shouldn’t undersell the effect that Jeffress will have on their pitching staff.

It was a hefty price to pay as general manager Jon Daniels parted with two of the team’s highly regarded prospects in Brinson and Ortiz. “We regrouped, got back upstairs. and went back it, and pleased to pull this off today”. Rated as the No.16 prospect by both MLB.com and Baseball America prior to 2016, Brinson has struggled with the bat at Double-A, slashing 0.237/0.280/0.431 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 77 games. This season, he went a combined 5-6 with a 2.71 ERA in 17 starts between Class-A Augusta and Class-A San Jose. The Rangers are 62-44, best in the AL and six games clear of the Houston Astros in the AL West. But with a batting average below.250 and only two homeruns and 10 RBIs, his bat is not in the same class as Lucroy’s and his CERA of 3.95 is the highest of all three catchers the Mets have used this season. Holaday, recalled an injury rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Round Rock, started 25 games behind the plate for Texas.