Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux (right) and manager Dave Roberts (30) celebrate with champagne in the clubhouse after defeating the New York Mets in game six of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 20, 2024. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Dodgers Manager on 2024 World Series Winner: 'It's Best For Him That He Moved On'

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 7:52 PM ET

Monday night at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers will present Gavin Lux the World Series ring he earned for his contributions to their 2024 championship season. Lux, who was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in January, is making his first visit to Dodger Stadium with his new team.

Although Lux finished the 2024 postseason with only one hit in his final 19 at-bats (.053), he made a memorable contribution to the pivotal moment of last year's World Series. His one-out walk in the 10th inning of Game 1 kickstarted the sequence that led to Freddie Freeman's game-winning grand slam.

The moment was not lost on Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Monday.

"It was a huge walk to be able to get (the lineup) to Shohei (Ohtani)," Roberts recalled. "At that point in time (Lux) wasn't swinging the bat great, but he had a big sac fly in that game, then he had a walk. We needed every bit of that.

"Gavin, even when we were struggling last year after the break, or right into the break, he was the one who was kind carrying us hitting in the three- or four-hole. Really picked us up big time. He helped us win a championship. I'm always going to be grateful."

Lux forced his way into the Dodgers' lineup in September 2019, three years after he was drafted in the first round out of Indian Trail High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

By 2021, he had worked his way into the lineup as a multi-position defender. Lux slashed .242/.328/.364 over 102 games that season. He played 129 games while hitting .276 in 2022.

But a knee injury suffered in spring training wiped out all of Lux's 2023 season, and he was slow to return to form in 2024. His limited ability in the field forced Mookie Betts to take over the starting shortstop's job in March with little warning. Lux slashed .251/.320/.383 (98 OPS+) in the regular season.

Lux's 2-WAR season (per Baseball Reference) as the Dodgers' primary second baseman was easy to overlook on a team of stars in 2024. The team effectively turned the second base position over to Tommy Edman and Hyeseong Kim while dealing Lux to Cincinnati, where his bat has largely rounded into its pre-injury form (.277/.354/.382).

"I do think it's best for him that he moved on, and started a new chapter in his career," Roberts said of Lux. "But it'll be good to see him. He's having a nice year."