Rangers acquire Jonathan Lucroy, whose decision may swing balance of AL power

For the second consecutive year, the Texas Rangers emerged with one of the biggest prizes at baseball's non-waiver trade deadline, snagging catcher Jonathan Lucroy in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers - an acquisition that possibly swings the balance of power in the American League.

Two people with direct knowledge of the trade confirmed that Lucroy and top reliever Jeremy Jeffress are headed to Texas in exchange for outfielder Lewis Brinson and right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz. They spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been announced.

Earlier Monday, the Rangers acquired designated hitter Carlos Beltran from the New York Yankees. But the Lucroy deal - and all that led up to it - should prove most impactful.

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The Brewers and Cleveland Indians on Sunday agreed to a deal that would have sent Lucroy to the Tribe, who lead the AL Central by 4 1/2 games. But Lucroy, concerned about playing time in 2017, exercised his limited no-trade clause and blocked the deal to Cleveland.

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A day later, the Rangers swept in aggressively and once again dealt from their very deep well of A-list prospects, sending Ortiz and Brinson to Milwaukee. Both are consensus top 10 Rangers prospects and they populate some top 100 overall prospect lists

In return, Texas gets Lucroy, 30, a two-time All-Star who will have a very reasonable $5.25 million club option for 2017. He also has an .841 OPS, which ranks second among major league catchers.

Brewers All-Star Jonathan Lucroy vetoes trade to Indians

And for the second consecutive year, a veteran player exercising no-trade rights benefited the Rangers. In July 2015, it was Cole Hamels rejecting a trade to the Rangers' AL West rival Houston Astros. Days later, he accepted a trade to Texas, and the Rangers erased a 7 1/2 game deficit to the Astros and won the West by two games.

This time, Lucroy's decision may have its biggest ramifications come October. The Rangers hold a six-game lead in the AL West, and a playoff matchup with the Indians seems quite plausible.

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