Gavin Lux traded to Reds for Mike Sirota & draft pick
01/06/2025 06:40 PM
Lux trade comes 3 days after Dodgers signed Hyeseong Kim. LA drafted Sirota out of high school in 2021, but he did not sign. Draft pick position not yet finalized, but will be in top 40.
The Dodgers traded second baseman Gavin Lux to the Reds on Monday in exchange for minor league outfielder Mike Sirota and a competitive balance Round A draft pick, per multiple reports, in a move that could have been seen coming for at least a few days.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the trade, which was confirmed by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, and others. The Dodgers have not yet announced the deal.
We were already wondering how the Dodgers might sort out their infield before the team signed Hyeseong Kim, a left-handed-hitting middle infielder, to a three-year contract on Friday. During the press conference to introduce outfielder Teoscar Hernández, during which the Kim deal was finalized, general manager Brandon Gomes said the plan was for Lux to play second base and Mookie Betts to be at shortstop, reiterating sentiments from various points during the offseason.
A first-round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2016, Lux hit .251/.320/.383 with 24 doubles and 10 home runs. Though he ended the season essentially right at league average offensively, with a 100 wRC+ and 101 OPS+, Lux's path to get there was circuitous.
Lux hit just .213/.267/.295 with a 60 wRC+ in 78 games before the All-Star break, then changed his approach at the plate and finished with a .304/.391/.508 clip with a 152 wRC+ over his final 61 games after the break. He had 23 of his 36 extra-base hits over those final two and a half months of the season.
With four years, 114 days of major league service time, Lux has two more seasons before free agency. He is eligible for salary arbitration this year. Lux is projected by Cot's Baseball Contracts to earn $3.225 million this season, while MLB Trade Rumors has the second baseman at $2.7 million in 2025. I guessed in between for Lux, projecting him at $2.85 million.
Sirota has yet to play professionally after getting drafted by the Reds in the third round in 2024 out of Northeastern. Baseball America ahead of the draft rated the right-handed outfielder as the 70th-best prospect in the draft.
The Dodgers drafted Sirota out of high school in the 16th round in 2021, but he did not sign. Sirota turns 22 in June.
The Competitive Balance Round A pick will be after the first round, the position of which will be finalized once all qualifying-offer free agents have signed. Currently, that pick is slated for No. 37. The 2025 recommended slot values haven't yet been finalized, but in 2024 the No. 37 pick had a slot value of $2,511,400.
