After tearing the cover off the ball for Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, Gavin Lux made his highly anticipated MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers when rosters expanded in September.
The top prospect’s arrival came with a lot of fanfare, as he wound up appearing in 23 games during the final month of the regular season. Though he primarily played shortstop in the Minors, Lux received all of his opportunities with the Dodgers at second base.
He thrived at the position and was included on the National League Division Series roster. Lux started in three of the five games at second base against the Washington Nationals, most notably becoming the first player in franchise history to hit a home run in his first postseason at-bat.
Looking ahead to his first full year as a big leaguer, Lux noted that he hopes to earn the starting second base job. While that scenario may end up coming to fruition, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that Lux could receive playing time elsewhere.
“Gavin is in the mix,” Roberts said of the possibility of Lux playing some outfield. “He really came out of the gates, performed well. Then struggled a little bit, like a lot of young players do, but he really showed well.
“So right now he’s in the mix, but we have a long way to go until we break camp. But to look back a year ago and to see how much he’s matured, I’m very, very proud of him, and he’s going to play this game at this level for a long time. But I can’t really speak to — we’ve got a long time before we break camp.”
As the roster currently stands, Lux would be best suited remaining at second base. That could quickly change should the Dodgers acquire an impact player at some point this offseason.
“I’d say that’s fair,” Roberts said of Lux’s status as a second baseman. “I’d say that’s fair. It’s not crazy to think that seeing Gavin in the grass might be a possibility, but I think, when you have Corey, yeah, second base, and maybe some outfield in the future, short term.”
The Dodgers have been most prominently connected to Francisco Lindor in trade rumors, with a potential resolution on that front coming soon. In the event he is acquired, it would have ramifications on the rest of the Dodgers’ infield.
Justin Turner would presumably shift over to first base, with Max Muncy primarily playing second base and Corey Seager rotating to third. As a domino effect, Lux could then see some time in the outfield.
“I just know that we haven’t put our roster together, so there’s a lot of different directions we can go, and a player like Gavin — the athleticism, the bat, all that stuff plays,” Roberts said of which specific outfield position Lux could play.
“So we have a lot of time to talk through that.”
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