Dodgers News: Gavin Lux Traded to Cincinnati Reds
01/06/2025 06:51 PM
Well, after weeks of speculation, the Los Angeles Dodgers have finally moved on from former top prospect and middle infielder Gavin Lux in a trade to the Cincinnati Reds, according to Major League Baseball insider Jeff Passon of ESPN.
According to ESPN sources, the full trade involves second baseman Gavin Lux heading to Cincinnati in exchange for a Competitive Balance Round A pick (around No. 37) and outfield prospect Mike Sirota.
The move comes as no surprise after the Los Angeles Dodgers inked Korean middle infielder Hyeseong Kim a 3-year, $12.5 million deal, with options that could extend it to a 5-year, $22 million deal as both are left-handed hitters with little power and above-average defense.
The move, however, is shocking to many who have followed the Dodgers as Gavin Lux was supposed to be the next big thing in Los Angeles after Lux won Baseball America’s 2019 Minor League Player of the Year Award and was set to take over the shortstop position after all-star’s Corey Seager and Trea Turner left town.
As we all know, things would not go as planned for Lux after a season-ending knee injury during spring training of 2023 would set him back a full year. In 2024, the Dodgers would give him another shot to win the shortstop job. However, the team would hastily move all-star and 2018 American League Most Valuable Player Mookie Betts to the premier position due to defensive issues.
As for the 2024 season, I would describe it as an Oreo cookie. Sandwiched between a terrible first half and a mediocre postseason was a fantastic second half, which gave many Dodgers fans a glimpse of who Gavin Lux was supposed to be.
In the first half of the 2024 regular season, Lux was borderline unplayable. The left-handed swinger hit .213/.267/.295 with a .562 OPS and a 60 wRC+. Thankfully, Lux improved significantly in the second half, and the Dodgers desperately needed him, too, with Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, and Freddie Freeman missing extended periods of time.
Lux was not only one of the Dodgers' best hitters but also one of the best in Major League Baseball, with a .304/.390/.508 slash line and a 152 wRC+. Unfortunately, he could not extend that elite hitting into October, when he reverted back to his first halfways.
Lux will end his Dodgers tenure as a two-time World Series champion, including hitting the game-tying RBI sac-fly in Game Five of the 2024 World Series.
As for the return to Los Angeles, they will get the number fourteen overall prospect in the Red farm system, Mike Sirota, a 23-year-old outfielder who was the Cincinnati Reds’ third-round pick in last year’s Major League Player Draft.
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