Spring is quickly turning into summer, which means one thing around Major League Baseball: the trade market is starting to heat up. What’s a little unfamiliar is seeing a catcher become the most desired target among position players, but that’s the world we live in today.

After thinking about selling low last winter, the Milwaukee Brewers are happy they decided against trading Jonathan Lucroy. While he’s returned to being one of baseball’s best catchers and leads the position with a 2.3 fWAR, there are four main reasons why he’s become a hot commodity:

• After a rough season in 2014 that led to his lowest OPS since 2011 (.717), Lucroy has bounced back in 2016, hitting .311/.368/.527 in 222 at-bats.
• He’s not just an offensive catcher, either. Lucroy is an asset behind the plate when it comes to throwing out runners and framing pitches.
• He’s primarily a catcher, but also has some experience at first base.
• His contract makes him an incredibly affordable, non-rental player ($4 million total salary in ’16, $5.25 million team option for ’17).

Now that over 60 regular-season games are in the books, it appears the teams who could really use his services the most – and have a somewhat decent chance of making it happen – all reside in the American League West. And no, we’re not talking about the Los Angeles Angels or the Oakland Athletics.

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