August 30, 2020

By Steve Schuster

Winnipeg Goldeyes

WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Goldeyes signed former Major League right-handed pitcher Josh Lucas on Sunday.

Lucas made 32 combined appearances (two starts, 30 in relief) for the Baltimore Orioles’ and Washington Nationals’ organizations. The Lakeland, Fla., native was 1-2 with three saves and a 6.38 ERA in 42 1/3 innings, striking out 38 batters.

Lucas’ 2019 campaign included nine Major League appearances for the Orioles, in which he struck out 16 batters in 15 2/3 innings. Lucas’ slider generated a 34.5 percent whiff rate (swinging strikes per opposing batter swings), which sat above the Major League average of 23 percent.

Lucas also reached the majors in 2017 with the St. Louis Cardinals, and again in 2018 with the Oakland Athletics. The 6-foot-6, 185-pound right-hander’s two-seam fastball averaged 92 miles per hour during his time in the Majors, while creating 5.7 inches of vertical break and 4.0 inches of horizontal break above the Major League average.

Lucas was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the 21st round in 2010 out of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (Bradenton, Florida). The 29-year-old is in his 10th season of professional baseball, and has a lifetime 25-21 record with 57 saves and a 3.71 ERA in 272 appearances, 17 of them as a starting pitcher. Lucas has averaged 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings during his career versus only 2.6 walks.

During his time in the Cardinals’ system, Lucas earned double-A Texas League All-Star honours with the Springfield Cardinals in 2016, and was assigned to the Arizona Fall League’s Surprise Saguaros in 2017.