5:04pm: Los Angeles is acquiring outfield prospect Mike Sirota and a draft pick, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Cincinnati’s competitive balance pick — the only choice that can be traded — lands at 37th overall.
4:59pm: The clubs are in agreement on a deal that’ll send Lux to Cincinnati, confirms Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic.
4:56pm: The Reds are finalizing a deal for second baseman Gavin Lux from the Dodgers, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Los Angeles general manager Brandon Gomes had downplayed the possibility of trading Lux late last week, but it seems the Dodgers intend to play free agent pickup Hyeseong Kim at second base.
Lux is going into his age-27 season. The left-handed hitting infielder was a first-round pick in 2016 and had emerged as one of the top prospects in baseball by the time he was promoted at the end of the ’19 season. Lux has been a solid big leaguer but not the kind of star that many evaluators had hoped.
The Dodgers didn’t give Lux consistent big league run until 2021. He struggled offensively that season, hitting .242/.328/.364 through 102 games. His bat took a step forward the following year, as he hit .276/.346/.399 through 471 trips to the plate. Lux looked like the starting shortstop going into 2023, but he tore his right ACL during Spring Training and wound up missing the entire season.
Lux returned from injury last year. He was healthy in Spring Training and expected to start at shortstop. A series of throwing errors during exhibition play called that into question. By the middle of Spring Training, Los Angeles announced that Lux would slide back to second base while Mookie Betts tried his hand at shortstop. Lux had started his professional career but encountered throwing accuracy issues in the minors as well.
The start of the season did not go well. Lux was the weakest link in the L.A. lineup in the first half. He carried a .213/.267/.295 batting line into the All-Star Break. The Dodgers stuck with him and were rewarded with a huge showing down the stretch. Lux hit .304/.391/.508 in 61 games during the second half. The end results were exactly league average. Lux finished the year with a .251/.320/.383 showing in 487 plate appearances. His 24 doubles and 10 home runs were both personal highs. Lux’s postseason numbers were unimpressive, though he did drive in the tying run in the eighth inning of what proved to be the decisive Game 5 victory in the World Series.
That will go down as Lux’s final at-bat in a Dodger uniform. He entered the offseason as the projected starter at second base. The Dodgers somewhat surprisingly signed Kim, who’s coming off a .326/.383/.458 showing in his final season in South Korea, to a three-year deal last week. That only guaranteed $12.5MM, a modest sum that aligned with most scouting reports that suggested Kim projected as a utility player in MLB. The Dodgers initially indicated they felt the same way, but it seems that was about not publicly telegraphing that they were shopping Lux.
Betts is expected to return to shortstop after finishing last season in the outfield. Kim looks like the starting second baseman with Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor behind them in utility roles. Tommy Edman can play the middle infield but projects as the starting center fielder. It would have been difficult to carry each of Lux, Kim, Rojas and Taylor on the 26-man roster. The Dodgers could’ve opened a spot by designating Taylor for assignment, but they preferred to cash Lux in for future value. It’s a surprising decision for a team that hopes to repeat as World Series winners. The Dodgers apparently feel that the downgrade from Lux to Kim won’t be substantial.
The Reds may not have everyday at-bats to offer Lux. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests he’s likely to assume a utility role at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati has Elly De La Cruz at shortstop and will welcome Matt McLain back at second base. Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, each of whom is coming off a down year, project as the corner infield tandem. Lux has only started one major league game at third base, where his throwing accuracy could be problematic. He saw limited action in left and center field between 2021-22.
If Cincinnati feels Lux could handle third base, that’d be his clearest path to playing time. They could also use Lux at second base and slide McLain to the hot corner. It’s another infield acquisition for the Reds, whose seeming surplus has become a question mark over the past 12 months. They’ve traded away Jonathan India. Candelario and Encarnacion-Strand are rebound hopefuls. Noelvi Marte missed half the season after a failed performance-enhancing drug test and didn’t play well. McLain is coming back after losing all of 2024 to shoulder surgery. Among Cincinnati’s talented infield group, only De La Cruz took a huge step forward last season.
Lux has between four and five years of major league service. He’s under arbitration control for two seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a modest $2.7MM salary. The Yankees and Mariners were reportedly also in contact with the Dodgers regarding Lux. They’ll need to turn elsewhere to address their respective infields.
Sirota, 21, was Cincinnati’s third-round pick last summer. He’s a righty-hitting outfielder who hit .298/.473/.513 against mid-major competition during his draft year at Northeastern. Baseball America’s draft report praised his speed and potential for above-average defense in center field. Sirota’s 6’3″ frame offers some physical projection, but BA writes that his bat path plays more for low-angle contact than power.
The Reds didn’t get Sirota into any game action after the draft. He spent the final two months of the season at the team’s Arizona complex. The Dodgers’ amateur scouting department has had its eye on him for a while, though. Los Angeles drafted him in the 16th round out of high school in 2021. It was clear by that point that Sirota — whom BA had ranked among the top 200 prospects in that year’s class — was likely headed to Northeastern, but team frequently take late-round fliers on talented high schoolers in case a deal with a higher draftee falls through and leaves unexpected space in the team’s bonus pool.
More to come.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
