Catchers Come and Go

The White Sox just signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. Lucroy, 34, used to be top-notch, a two-time All-Star for the Brewers with a career BA of .274. But the last three years haven’t been kind to Lucroy, who’s gone through four teams before coming to the Sox. At the same time, ex-Sox catcher Josh Phegley announced his retirement not even two weeks before his 33rd birthday and just two years removed from his best MLB season, when he hit 12 homers and drove in 62 runs in just 314 at-bats for the As. I always liked Phegley for his hard-nosed play; this was a guy who never got cheated on a swing and wasn’t afraid of baserunners sliding into the plate. There’s something else. In the minors, Phegley was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a serious blood disorder; it cost the Terra Haute native his spleen. My sister Betty had something similar to ITP that claimed her life in 2010. With Phegley retiring, it’s a little like losing my sister all over again. Personally, I wish the Sox had signed one catcher over the other.