After going through an era where perennial All-Stars Corey Seager and Trea Turner was a starting shortstop, the Los Angeles Dodgers now are turning to Gavin Lux for a return to his natural position.
Once a top prospect in baseball, Lux’s opportunity and impact with the Dodgers has come at second base. However, after losing Turner in free agency, the Dodgers made an early commitment to Lux.
He remained the projected starter even after the Dodgers completed a trade for Miguel Rojas, who had been the regular shortstop for the Miami Marlins.
As Lux heads into a season in which he’ll need to play a pivotal role, the 25-year-old is looking forward to an opportunity to return to his natural position, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
“Both those guys are two of the best shortstops in baseball. Arguably the two best, so I got to learn under them and saw how they went about their business,” Lux said. “I loved playing with both of them, but I think it’s cool that I get to slide back to where I grew up playing, so I’m excited.”
Lux played just nine games at shortstop last season, none of which were starts. He logged 59 games (50 starts) at the position in 2021, but all of those came prior to the Dodgers acquiring Turner and Max Scherzer in a trade with the Washington Nationals.
Despite not spending much time at shortstop last year, Lux was considered “just missed” by The Shredder in its ranking of the top-10 shortstops in baseball heading into the 2023 season.
Freddie Freeman, Dodgers confident in Gavin Lux
At various points throughout the offseason Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes, manager Dave Roberts and Freddie Freeman have each voiced their confidence in Lux returning to shortstop.
“When you have young players like Miguel Vargas, Gavin Stone, Bobby Miller and who I’m most excited about, Gavin Lux. I know he’s been here, I get that, but the man was hitting .300 last year,” Freeman recently said.
“Consistent with his approach, his plan of attack, and now he’s been given the task to play shortstop. Not just shortstop, but for the Los Angeles Dodgers. That’s a big task. If anybody is ready to do that, I think he is.”
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