Monday, March 4, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
Coming back from a horrible knee injury, Gavin Lux is slated to be an everyday shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Offensively, he has been doing well offensively, but he has struggled defensively.
Shortstop is the most important defensive position on the diamond. A team with World Series aspirations must have a great defensive shortstop. From 2016 to 2022, the Dodgers had superstar shortstops, Corey Seager and Trea Turner, but the organization let both of them go elsewhere as free agents.
Shortstop is the natural position for Lux. Despite the time when he played there in 2021 while Seager healed from a broken wrist, Lux hasn’t had an opportunity to play there. In 2021, he was a below-average shortstop.
When the Dodgers let Turner go, they announced Lux would be their starting shortstop. According to Lux, it was every child’s dream, “to play shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Before the 2023 season, he worked very hard preparing to play shortstop.
The Dodgers traded for Miguel Rojas from the Miami Marlins as an insurance plan for Lux. Throughout his major league career, Rojas has been known as a defensive specialist who struggled offensively. His major league career began with the Dodgers in 2014, but the Dodgers traded him along with Dee Gordon in February 2015 to acquire Kiké Hernàndez and Austin Barnes; the Dodgers never planned to use Rojas as their everyday shortstop.
Lux entered the 2023 spring training to be expected to be the Dodger everyday shortstop. In his third game in the Cactus League, Lux tore both ACL and MCL, requiring surgery. The injury made him miss the entire 2023 season.
In Lux’s absence, Rojas was the Dodger primary shortstop while he slumped offensively for most of the season. The Dodgers want Rojas to be a reserve infielder during the 2024 season.
This past offseason, Lux worked at Dodger Stadium in preparation for the upcoming season.
During spring training, Lux has had difficulty making accurate throws. Although his range hasn’t been tested, Lux may have limited range because of his severe knee injuries. It is still early in spring training, but every ground ball hit to Lux looks like an adventure. Yes, he has time to improve, but with the Dodgers opening in South Korea in two weeks, Lux doesn’t have much time to feel more comfortable at shortstop.
With Max Muncy playing third base, the Dodgers appear to have a weak left side of the infield. Since Muncy lost fifteen pounds in the offseason, he looks more able to field his position. However, Muncy needs and deserves a good fielding shortstop next to him.
The Dodgers may want to delay Lux’s beginning of the 2024 season until the team returns from South Korea. If his defense at shortstop doesn’t improve, the Dodgers may want to acquire a shortstop before or at the trading deadline.
Until then, the Dodgers need to evaluate Lux seriously until July. Having a poor defensive shortstop creates scoring opportunities for the opposition and makes the pitchers work harder than needed. The Dodgers may need to turn the page from having Lux to play at shortstop.
