The Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing a trade to send infielder Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Lux has been a potential trade candidate all offseason long, and now he’s finally headed out in a major shakeup for the reigning World Series champions.
Going back to the Dodgers is outfielder Mike Sirota and a Competitive Balance Round A pick, which is around No. 37.
The Dodgers signed utility man Hyeseong Kim last week, opening up the possibility that the team would move on from Lux. The 27-year-old was a homegrown star who had spent his entire career in the Dodgers organization.
The Dodgers selected Lux in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He rose the prospect ranks in the organization, and debuted in 2018. Lux was a part of the World Series winning team in 2020, but didn’t start making a big impact until 2021. That year Lux hit .242, and he followed it up with a 2022 season in which he hit a career-high .276 with 33 extra-base hits and an OPS of .745.
Lux entered the 2023 season as the team’s starting shortstop, finally getting to achieve his lifelong dream. However, a torn ACL in spring training ended his season before it ever began.
In 2024, Lux again entered spring as the team’s starting shortstop. However, after struggling to field the position, he was moved to second base, where he’d spend the entire 2024 season.
Lux got off to a slow start in 2024 but ended up putting things together in the second half. He finished the year hitting .251 with career-highs in home runs (10), runs batted in (50), and games played (139).
Lux’s lasting image in a Dodgers uniform will be his sacrifice fly in Game 5 of the World Series. In the top of the eighth inning, Lux drove in the game-tying run with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, a Mookie Betts sacrifice fly gave the Dodgers a 7-6 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish as they claimed their eighth World Series title in franchise history.
