Haudricourt: Piña's play helped solidify Brewers' catching after trade of Lucroy

This weekend in Colorado, the Milwaukee Brewers have been on the opposite side of the field from an old friend, catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

With that backdrop, it’s a good time to revisit what has happened with the Brewers’ catching since Lucroy and reliever Jeremy Jeffress – who has since been acquired – were traded to Texas on Aug. 1 of last season. At the time, there was much gnashing of teeth among Milwaukee fans who didn’t want to part with Lucroy, and figured the team’s catching would go to hell afterward.

The void grew larger after the season when Martin Maldonado, the longtime backup to Lucroy, was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Jett Bandy in a swap of catchers. Just like that, the Brewers went from having perhaps the most stable 1-2 catching combination in the majors to one completely unsettled.

BOX SCORE:Brewers 6, Rockies 3

RELATED:Aguilar's ninth-inning blast saves Brewers

RELATED:Lots of changes for ex-Brewers catcher Lucroy

RELATED:This week in MLB

RELATED:This week's MLB power rankings

But, with no offense whatsoever to Lucroy, who was a two-time all-star with the Brewers and a stand-up player in every way, do you hear anyone complaining these days that the Brewers traded him?

The answer is no.

Rather than becoming a weakness in the aftermath of the trades of Lucroy and Maldonado, catching has been an area of stability for the Brewers. And that’s despite injuries that landed Bandy and Stephen Vogt – a key in-season acquisition – on the disabled list.

Much of the credit goes to Manny Piña, an unheralded journeyman who finally got the chance to prove he could play in the majors and didn’t let it slip away. When Piña was acquired in December 2015 as the player to be named later from Detroit in the Frankie Rodriguez trade, nobody thought much of it. He had played Class AAA ball for more than three years, and Class AA ball for five seasons before that.

The Brewers sent Piña to Class AAA Colorado Springs last year, and he prospered as hitters often do there, batting .329 in 63 games with five homers, 43 RBI and .877 OPS. The day Lucroy was traded, the Brewers called up Piña and had him share time afterward with Maldonado. He held his own, batting .254 in 33 games with two homers, 12 RBI and .346 OBP.

That same day, catcher Andrew Susac was acquired from San Francisco in the Will Smith trade. General manager David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell agreed that Piña, Bandy and Susac would compete in spring training for the two catching spots on the big-league roster, and some wondered if they were rolling the dice in a big way.

When Susac suffered a shoulder/neck issue in camp and opened on the DL (he is back on the DL with the same issue), the two spots went to Piña and Bandy. They each broke out of the gate swinging hot bats, and the catching platoon became the least of the rebuilding Brewers’ problems.

Bandy eventually fell into a deep slump, prompting the Brewers to send him down and claim the 32-year-old Vogt off waivers from Oakland on June 25. A two-time all-star, Vogt was having a down year with the Athletics, who were looking to get younger, but the Brewers thought he’d be a nice fit on their relatively inexperienced roster.

Before getting the worst of a home-plate collision in Pittsburgh in late July and suffering a sprained knee, Vogt made an impact with the Brewers, compiling a .991 OPS with four home runs in 12 games. Bandy was recalled when Vogt went on the DL, and when Bandy was hit by a pitch that cracked a rib, Susac got the call from Colorado Springs. This weekend, Vogt returned to the active roster.

The one constant through all that shuffling has been Piña, who is having a solid year at the plate as well as behind it. Entering Saturday, the 30-year-old Venezuelan was batting .287 with nine home runs, 39 RBI, .330 OBP and .782 OPS.

Piña also has been a force in terms of run prevention, thanks to a strong throwing arm that makes it a risk to run on him or stray too far off base. He leads all major-league catchers with six pickoffs, including four at second base, and has nabbed 14 of 46 runners (30.4%) attempting steals.

Piña’s 1.7 defensive WAR (wins above replacement) ranks second in the NL behind Cincinnati’s Tucker Barnhart (2.0) and ahead of perennial gold glove winner Yadier Molina (1.2) of St. Louis. His overall WAR of 2.6 ranks fourth among NL catchers.

“Offensively, he has been a very consistent player for us,” Counsell said. “Defensively, he has thrown out runners at a good rate; he has picked off some guys.

“The other part of his game is knowing the league and helping the pitchers has really improved as the season went on. That’s because he has worked at it, and I give him credit for it.”

In Vogt’s absence, Counsell played Piña more to take advantage of his production on both sides of the ball. His offense has suffered some (.696 OPS in August) but he still delivers big hits, including the decisive two-run homer in the 7-6 comeback victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday.

“This is his first (full) year in the big leagues,” Counsell said. “He has been asked to do a lot. With some injuries behind the plate, he’s carried the load the last couple of weeks. In a role in which he has split time, he has continued to have a big impact.”

Pina is a favorite in the clubhouse because of his easy-going personality and determination. His teammates know how hard he worked to finally make his first big-league roster out of spring camp and how diligent he is in preparing for every game.

Also, let's not forget the Brewers acquired their No. 1 prospect, outfielder Lewis Brinson, in the three-player return from Texas for Lucroy and Jeffress. 

Accordingly, it has been a long time since anyone associated with the Brewers has thought much about Lucroy. He mostly spun his wheels with Texas, failed to get the contract extension he wanted and recently was traded to Colorado, where being in a playoff race is bringing out his best (.964 OPS in his first 13 games).

I’m guessing some Brewers fans didn’t realize Lucroy was with the Rockies until they saw him on the television broadcasts this weekend. But those who thought the Brewers’ catching would be a major issue in his absence were wrong.

Manny Piña deserves a lot of credit for that out-of-sight, out-of-mind development.