The Los Angeles Dodgers alleviated a logjam in their middle infield by trading Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds for prospect Mike Sirota and a competitive balance round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
It marked the end of a near decade-long stint with the organization for Lux, who was selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
The 27-year-old established himself as a top prospect in the Dodgers farm system and eventually went on to assume a regular role at the Major League level during the 2021 season.
Lux had mixed results with the Dodgers but enjoyed getting to learn from Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani, via MLB Network:
“I played with Mookie and Freddie for three, four years. I took a lot from all those guys, but Freddie’s first year was 2022 with the Dodgers, and I was probably annoying to him. I’m literally sitting down and watching his cage routine, he’ll go out and I’m watching his BP routine, his defense routine.
“I’m trying to do whatever Freddie does, because he’s about as good of a left-handed hitter as you can be. Hits for power, does damage, gets hits, controls the strike zone. He’s just the ultimate left-handed hitter, so whatever he’s doing, why don’t I try and do it? I really would just kind of watch and pick his brain as much as I could.
“Obviously, Mookie and Sho too. You take stuff from everybody over the years, but man, it’s so fun watching Freddie hit BP and just hit five line drives right at the shortstop and then walk out like that’s it.”
The Dodgers signed Freeman to a six-year, $162 million contract prior to the 2022 season. Similar to what Lux is experiencing now, that represented the end of an era for Freeman with the Atlanta Braves.
Freeman solidified himself as one of the most productive left-handed hitters in the league and has continued to live up to that reputation with the Dodgers.
In addition to his success on the field, Freeman has positively impacted the Dodgers with his strong work ethic and valuable insight he can prove to younger players. At multiple points during their time as Dodgers teammates, Freeman would regularly praise Lux for his talent and commitment to the game.
Gavin Lux felt ‘a lot of emotions’ after Dodgers trade
In the same interview with MLB Network, Lux admitted that leaving the Dodgers brought about some mixed feelings, but he has an optimistic view of joining the Reds.
Over parts of five seasons with the Dodgers, Lux batted .252/.326/.383 with 62 doubles, 14 triples, 28 home runs and 155 RBI over 412 games.
Lux’s final at-bat with the Dodgers was a game-tying sacrifice fly that also advanced a second runner who later scored the game-winning run on Betts’ fly ball in Game 5 of the World Series.
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