CINCINNATI – The Reds added what they hope will be a valuable offensive piece this week in the acquisition of former first-round pick Gavin Lux from the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Reds brought Lux on board in exchange for 21-year-old outfielder Mike Sirota, who was a third round (87th overall) pick in last summer’s first-year player draft. The Reds also sent to the Dodgers their Competitive Balance Round A (37th overall) selection in the 2025 first-year player draft.
In a corresponding move, the Reds have designated for assignment RHP Roansy Contreras, who was claimed off waivers from Texas on December 19. Cincinnati’s 40-player roster is at capacity.
Lux was expendable by the Dodgers after they signed South Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim to a three-year, $12.5 million deal this past week.
Still only 27, Lux hit .251 (110-for-439) with 36 extra-base hits and 50 RBI in 139 games (138 at second base) with Los Angeles in 2024. He made 12 Postseason apps for the World Series champion Dodgers, homering in the team’s season-saving victory at San Diego in Game 4 of the NLDS.
“The playoffs are a different animal, and then once you’re in it, you understand why everyone says that every little detail matters,” Lux told me. “The playoffs, it’s a dogfight. I kind of learned that this past year, that the attitudes just as important as anything, and the mentality of the team. Like we keep saying (about) this team, we want to win. And hopefully I can just bring any experiences that I have had over the past five, six years. And hopefully I can just be an open book and help the young guys out as much as possible.”
The Reds did add $2.76 million in payroll for this season and Lux is under team control for one more season in 2026 as a third-year arbitration eligible candidate. Including projected arbitration, the Reds are at about $96.2 million in 2025 payroll expenditures.
“We’ve got a little bit, not a ton,” President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall said in announcing the deal this week. “I think we’re just kind of working through that right now. One of the things we looked at was trading the draft pick, that saved us some money there as well.”
What this move does is provide Terry Francona some very valuable flexibility around the infield and lengthen the lineup with an established left-handed bat. While it might be hard to imagine Matt McLain playing a regular role in the outfield, the Reds have the potential of moving McLain around, including outfield and DH, a role that Jonathan India served over the last two seasons. Also, if the Reds so choose, they could protect McLain from wear and tear that resulted in McLain suffering a shoulder injury last spring that required surgery.
Lux is ready to play wherever Francona needs him.
“That’s the first thing we talked about,” Lux said. “It’s like, who cares? All we want to do is win. And I think that’s how it should be, who plays where, it is what it is. Let’s just go out there and try to win games. I’m talking with Tito and you know the front office guys, it’s like, yeah, we want to win now. And I think obviously, with all this young talent. The ceiling is about as high as it can be, probably as any team in the league. So I think it’s going to be a fun year, and it’s a really good group of guys, men, and a lotta, lotta young talent. So I’m looking forward to getting rolling.”
Lux has been primarily a second baseman, playing 296 of his over 400 career games there. He has 65 games at shortstop and 36 games as a left fielder, and just one at third base.
“I haven’t played much there,” Lux said of third base. “Honestly, it’s a little bit different angle off the bat, takes a little bit to get used to. But like I said, I feel like, personally, if I have enough time to kind of get prepared at a bunch of different spots, I’ll be fine there. I can make those adjustments, and I’ll be fine. I have been a guy that can play a couple different spots to be in the lineup. I know how important that versatility piece is and how valuable it is. I think wherever it is, we want to win, and however I can do that, and help Tito put the line up together he wants, I think that’s the most important (thing).”
“If you look at our team last year, people argue we had too many infielders, obviously that didn’t play itself out,” Krall said. “We were last in WAR in third base, first base, and DH, so we look at him as a guy that’s going to play second base, play some outfield and DH some. In spring training, we’ll also give a look second, third and short and see where it is and see where he is defensively with all those positions.
“We think that he’s a quality left handed hitter that that just lengthens our lineup.”
Lux batted .252 (336-for-1,333) in 412 regular-season games with Los Angeles over 5 seasons (2019-24). He also played in 30 postseason games for the Dodgers. In Game 1 of the 2019 NLDS vs Washington, he hit a pinch-hit home run in his first career postseason plate appearance.
The Reds are getting a player that was one of the most heralded and highly regarded players in 2016.
Lux, the Dodgers’ first-round (20th overall) selection from the 2016 first-year player draft, tied for the National League lead with seven triples in 2022. He missed the entire 2023 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee suffered during a Spring Training game.
Lux was named Baseball America’s minor league Player of the Year and an All-Star Futures Game participant in 2019. At the time of his Major League debut on September 2, 2019, he was rated by MLB Pipeline as the second-best prospect in all of baseball. In his debut, a win vs Colorado, Lux became the first player in franchise history to score three runs in his first Major League game.
