Brett Nicholas Waits His Turn

The annual July 31 trade deadline found the Rangers in a difficult spot. Should they trade away the players in the final years of their contracts or hold those key pieces for a run at a wild card?

Among those veterans was catcher Jonathan Lucroy, whom they traded to the Rockies for a player to be named. The Rangers had flirted with trading Lucroy for a month, in large part because of their confidence in Robinson Chirinos but also in 28-year-old Brett Nicholas.

The catcher at Triple-A Round Rock and a Pacific Coast League all-star, Nicholas’ stock continues to rise in his fourth season as a catcher to the point where he could be one of the two catchers on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster next season.

“Brett’s come a long way,” said Geno Petralli, the former Rangers catcher who is a coach at Round Rock. “He’s a hard-working kid. He’s had to position himself for opportunities and, fortunately, the cream comes to the crop in baseball. He’s gotten an opportunity to produce and play in Triple-A, and he’s done well.”

Nicholas, a lefthanded batter, emerged as an option as he has improved with more experience. After being drafted in the sixth round in 2010 as a catcher out of Missouri, he played first base almost exclusively in 2012 and 2013 before moving back to catcher in 2014.

Nicholas, who has been in big league camp the past two years, made his big league debut in 2016 and is tracking toward steady big league duty in 2018.

“You have to have games under your belt,” said Petralli, who started working with Nicholas in 2015. “Some guys get it faster than others. You have to be patient. You know the talent’s there. It’s just a matter of time to get it out. That’s the case with Brett.”