Could Angels Trade Infield Depth, Get Prospects From Dodgers Following Gavin Lux Injury?

The Los Angeles Dodgers got some tough news on Tuesday when it was announced that their starting shortstop, Gavin Lux, would be out for the season with a torn ACL.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked about potentially adding another big leaguer on Tuesday, and gave somewhat of a non-answer:

"What we have will be more than sufficient, but we're always trying to get better."

If the Dodgers do, in fact, look to get better and pursue a deal, there may be no better trading partner than the Angels.

This offseason, the Angels added a significant amount of depth all over the infield, and enter the 2023 season with almost too much depth (if that's possible).

Between Anthony Rendon, Gio Urshela, Brandon Drury, Luis Rengifo, Jared Walsh, David Fletcher and even Andrew Velazquez and Livan Soto, there's just too much talent and not enough positions to play them. So, the Angels are in a better position than anyone to trade some infield depth.

The Dodgers do have Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor who are going to play a ton of shortstop this season, but honestly, that only makes a trade between these two teams even easier.

The Angels have a super utility man in Rengifo — someone who already generated trade interest earlier in the offseason — who would be a perfect fit on this Dodgers team, and a great way for the Angels to recoup some much-needed prospect capital.

The Dodgers’ acquisition of Miguel Rojas is now extremely significant with the loss of Gavin Lux.

He and Chris Taylor will be the shortstops, unless the Dodgers decide to make another move.

Potential trade options include:

Willy Adames
Tim Anderson
Amed Rosario
Luis Rengifo
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) February 28, 2023

Rengifo had a breakout year for the Halos last season, finishing as a finalist for both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards in the utility category. The recently-turned 26-year-old slashed .264/.294/.429 with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs, and had an OPS+ just above league average at 103.

Rengifo played all over the diamond, spending time at second base, third base, shortstop, left field and right field, providing a ton of value for a team looking for depth. He's also a switch-hitter, providing even more value to a team in the lineup.

Rengifo already got off to a hot start this spring, too, crushing a two-run home run in Monday's game and collecting another base hit on Tuesday.

💥 GEEFY 💥#LAASpring pic.twitter.com/SROAr7wjfm
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) February 27, 2023

And since the Angels have an over-crowded infield, trading him could make a lot of sense — especially since they traded four pitchers to acquire Urshela and Hunter Renfroe earlier this offseason.

In terms of a return, Rengifo doesn't have a ton of trade value, but the Angels would definitely be able to grab one or two prospects from the Dodgers' never-ending supply of talent in their farm system. Adding one top-30 prospect and another lower-level one would definitely entice the Angels, and the Dodgers, in their desperate state, would likely be fine with that sort of compensation.

Rengifo would be a great fit with the Dodgers, being able to fill in at any position, and providing a switch-hitter and solid defender in the lineup. And the Angels could feel better about retooling their farm system by trading someone they took to arbitration this year, and whose role became much less defined with the offseason additions.

This feels like a win-win proposition, one that both teams would be very happy about in the short and long term.