Dodgers: Gavin Lux Feeling Comfortable Playing At Shortstop
The Dodgers losing Corey Seager was a big deal for a lot of reasons. He’s obviously a very quality bat that you lose at the top of the order. He and Mookie Betts were arguably one of the betters 1-2 punches in all of baseball.
But you also lose one of your only true shortstops without Seager. The Dodgers couldn’t just throw Chris Taylor in there given the injuries that have plagued the outfield. So that left Gavin Lux as the only viable option with Corey out.
In his place, Gavin has played decently on the defensive sides of things. It helps a little bit that he has broken out on offense and that his bat has really caught fire over the last week. But Lux says that he is feeling comfortable on defense, and that’s exactly what LA needs.
I feel pretty comfortable over there. Just growing up there, coming up through the minor leagues. And during groundball work every day, I usually try to bounce around and take balls at third, take balls at short and second. Wherever it may be, you never know. The more familiar with positions you can be, the better.
Lux logged a ton of innings at shortstop in his minor league career. In 2019, he started a total of 90 games there between Double-A and Triple-A for the Dodgers farm teams. It’s also a position that he came up playing throughout High School.
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The scouting report on him coming up suggested that he would be better suited for the right side of the infield. With an arm on the weaker side, experts figured he would hold up better long-term playing second. But with the need the Dodgers have, Lux is their best option.
He’s rewarded that faith they’ve placed in him by playing roughly league-average defense. Funny enough, that’s a significant upgrade over what Seager has done in 2021.
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Lux may be a long term option at SS bc he is much quicker than Seager and should have more range.
Agree with Redem.; Lux is more athletic at short. If his offense is satisfactory and Boros finds pay dirt out of town for Cory, we could see Lux starting there next year. On the other hand, it’s supposed to be good F/A year for SS’s. LA could sign someone and leave Lux at second.
Taylor looks pretty capable at second BTW.
Seager wants to play for his childhood favorite team, and someone on the east coast that is close to his NC home, so he’ll be in pinstripes next year. With a contract bigger than what the Dodgers would pay.
So, Lux goes to SS and Busch is promoted (actually, this September) and becomes the new 2B.
Taylor is a free agent after this year, so he’ll go Kike on us and leave.
It’s just business…
with all the $$ coming off the books after this season, there is no reason the Dodgers don’t resign Corey. As mediocre his fielding is, hos offense is superb. And so Gavin is stuck at 2nd, unless Corey moves to 3rd.
As for Busch, why hasn’t he come up to the bigs yet? If he’s the next 2nd baseman, you’d expect him to come up now & then for a cup ‘o coffee.
Taylor too may get a huge raise next year, as he’s such a selfless player, he doesn’t need to play everyday (heck he practically plays everyday already!) and would rather remain on a World Series Champion team!
Dodgers could afford to let Joc leave because he does not hit lefties! Kike was tough, but we had a replacement with Zack. Do we have another Zack if CT were to leave? I doubt it!