Dodgers: Gavin Lux is Ready to Finally Take Over at Shortstop
Gavin Lux played shortstop growing up. He played shortstop in high school well enough for the Dodgers to draft him in the first round in 2016. He played shortstop in the minors well enough to be named Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year in 2019.
But when he got to Los Angeles, his spot at shortstop was blocked by Corey Seager, a pretty decent ballplayer in his own right. A few months before Seager left in free agency after the 2021 season, Los Angeles acquired Trea Turner, so Lux's path at short remained blocked.
Like Seager before him, Turner signed a $300 million deal in free agency to play elsewhere, which means it's finally Lux Time at shortstop in LA. And as Juan Toribio writes for MLB.com, Lux is ready for the challenge. In fact, he thinks the opportunity to have watched Seager and Turner in action will help him be a better player.
“Both those guys are two of the best shortstops in baseball. Arguably the two best, so I got to learn under them and saw how they went about their business,” Lux said. “I loved playing with both of them, but I think it’s cool that I get to slide back to where I grew up playing, so I’m excited.”
Lux has heard the rumblings that he might not be able to handle the switch to shortstop, but for him, it feels natural. Shortstop was his position his whole life, so the hard adjustment was playing somewhere else.
“I feel comfortable on the left side when it comes to reading balls and reading it off the bat,” Lux said. “That’s what I did growing up, and I feel really comfortable going back over there.”
In some ways, Lux is thankful he wasn't thrown into the fire of being the starting shortstop on a World Series contender as a rookie. The way things have worked out, he's been able to work through the kinks of playing in the big leagues away from the brightest spotlight.
“I think I would’ve been ready [to play shortstop three years] ago and I would’ve taken my bumps and bruises, but I’m not sure how I would’ve handled it,” Lux said. “But I think now, mentally and physically, I’m way more prepared to handle it than I would’ve been three years ago. It’s night and day, for sure.”
It feels like an experiment to the rest of us, but to Lux, it appears to feel like going back home. Hopefully we'll see the talent and performance that made him a first-round pick and a minor-league player of the year.
