The Los Angeles Dodgers have been trying groom Gavin Lux as their shortstop of the future dating back to last season. Through no fault of the Dodgers or Lux, that plan was derailed pretty quickly in 2023 because of a season-ending right knee injury he suffered early into Spring Training.
While the Dodgers went on a $1 billion spending spree during the offseason, none of that was at shortstop. The Dodgers still had faith Lux could be a stalwart at the position for years to come after spending the past year recovering from knee surgery.
But as the team approached the end of Spring Training and their trip to South Korea, the Dodgers moved Lux back to second base and switched Mookie Betts to shortstop.
It is a position familiar to Lux as he spent the majority of his time there in his last full season in 2022 with 102 appearances made.
Although defensive struggles are what prompted the position switch, Lux told Kirsten Watson on SportsNet LA that he quickly started to gain comfort at second base again and will continue doing so with more starts:
“I feel like the last two games, just trying to get as many plays as possible to get back over there and get used to it. I feel like these last two years I’ve been taking all my reps at short, so the more games the better. Just keep running me out there and I’ll figure it out.”
The move back to second base does make sense given Lux’s performance at the position in 2022. He was about a slightly above-average defender that season with a .973 fielding percentage and three defensive runs saved (DRS) in 819.2 innings.
Lux’s best tools on defense are his athleticism and speed. He was able to use an 88th percentile sprint speed to earn two outs above average, a stat that measures a fielder’s range.
With his above-average range it is no wonder why the Dodgers wanted to give Lux another opportunity to lock down the shortstop position, but the early returns in Spring Training were enough to make the change.
Time will tell if Lux will ever get another look at short, with next season presumably the earliest possibility. But there will be a number of different factors that go into a decision on Lux’s future.
Do the Dodgers make a trade for a Willy Adames? How does Lux look at second base throughout 2024? These are only a couple of the questions that need to be answered before a decision is made.
Gavin Lux travels with Dodgers after illness
Lux and Max Muncy were not in the lineup for the Dodgers in their Cactus League game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday due to being under the weather.
Muncy was once again out for the Dodgers’ final Cactus League game on Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. However, Lux did feel good enough to play, and both players traveled with the team to South Korea.
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