Reds acquire infielder Lux from champion Dodgers
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The Cincinnati Reds acquired infielder Gavin Lux from the Los Angeles Dodgers for a draft pick and an outfield prospect, the teams announced Monday, adding another prime-age hitter to a team that hopes to ascend in the National League Central this season.
Lux, 27, won two World Series titles with the Dodgers and showed flashes of the talent that at one point had him ranked among the best prospects in baseball. With the team moving Mookie Betts to shortstop last season and signing infielder Hyeseong Kim last week, Lux was available via trade. The Dodgers received Cincinnati’s competitive balance Round A pick (worth around $2.5 million in bonus-pool money) and outfielder Mike Sirota, a third-round pick in 2024.
“He’s a guy who has a chance to come in and be in our lineup and lengthen that lineup out,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. “Just us being able to add a left-handed hitter that hits well against right-handed pitching.”
Cincinnati’s roster already includes a cadre of options at Lux’s main positions: shortstop Elly De La Cruz, second baseman Matt McLain, third baseman Noelvi Marte, corner infielder Jeimer Candelario, utility man Santiago Espinal and first basemen Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Still, Lux’s versatility — he has played 45 games at outfield — could allow the Reds to move him around in search of at-bats.
After a dreadful start to 2024 following an ACL tear that kept him out of the 2023 season, Lux was one of the most productive hitters in baseball in the second half, batting .304/.390/.508 and putting up two wins above replacement in 61 games. Lux is expected to make slightly more than $3 million in arbitration this year and will reach free agency after the 2026 season.
Under new manager Terry Francona, the Reds hope to rebound from a disappointing 77-85 season that included breakout campaigns from De La Cruz and right-hander Hunter Greene but was not enough to stand out in the middling NL Central.
By receiving the extra $2.5 million in draft capital, the Dodgers will help make up for a bonus pool that was lacking. Because Los Angeles exceeded the luxury tax threshold by more than $40 million, its first-round draft pick, set to be 30th overall, was moved back 10 spots to 40th.
Sirota, 21, has physical tools that have long intrigued teams — including the Dodgers, who drafted him in the 16th round in 2021. He declined to sign and went to Northeastern, where he showed a power-speed-patience game that prompted Cincinnati to take him with the No. 87 pick in last year’s draft and sign him for $863,300.
