Inside The Dodgers

Dodgers Make Three Moves, Involving Gavin Lux, Jake McGee and Jimmy Nelson

Dodgers Make Three Moves, Involving Gavin Lux, Jake McGee and Jimmy Nelson
Howard Cole|
Dodgers Make Three Moves, Involving Gavin Lux, Jake McGee and Jimmy Nelson
Dodgers Make Three Moves, Involving Gavin Lux, Jake McGee and Jimmy Nelson

Andrew Friedman was a busy little bee this morning. The Dodgers president of baseball operations made three moves before his first coffee break, optioning his 2020 Rookie of the Year candidate Gavin Lux, signing veteran left-handed reliever Jake McGee and moving Jimmy Nelson to the created-for-this-year-only 45-day injured list.

Lux first. The Dodgers' second baseman was one of the last of his mates to report to camp, presumably because of coronavirus-related protocols, but he's been mum about it (which is his right), so we really don't know. It's possible that this is a simple short-term demotion to get a young player up to speed prior to joining the club full-time in the near term. But there is another variable.

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Lux may -- and I emphasize the word may -- have stumbled upon a new episode of the yips, which he has dealt with in the past. And while I can't give you the precise number, I can tell you from close inspection that of Lux's 27 errors in 92 games in 2018, a high percentage of them were on throws to first base.

Unable to look away, I tweeted about Lux's throwing problems in real time last night (here and here). The first hiccup, and the most noticeable, was a routine grounder thrown in the vicinity of the DBacks dugout. The second was a similar play, with a wide throw pulling Matt Beaty off the bag while being able to record the out with an awkward stretch. Next came a double-clutch on a potential double play ball and finally a weak late toss to second on a grounder up the middle in which Lux lost his footing. The latter two wouldn't be noticeable independent of the earlier two, but here we are 12 hours later with the player being optioned.

Los Angeles also signed lefty reliever McGee (recently released by Colorado) Tuesday to a one-year contract. You know that when people say "I hate to say I told you so" they really mean "I was right, I was right, bully for me because I rock," right?

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Well, guilty as charged. Feast your eyes on these two babies from Sunday:

Look, it's next to impossible to pitch in Denver. Some guys can do it for a time -- God bless em -- but it's a career-changing experience for most hurlers. Numbers are especially skewed for relievers. McGee to the Dodgers is a small move, which could loom larger as the season progresses. I've always liked him, so perhaps I'm overselling. More will be revealed. 

McGee was a Ray when Friedman was the big boss in Tampa, so both men know what to expect from each other. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. My guess is that McGee makes the Opening Day roster in place of Scott Alexander (another late summer camper), or the up-and-down Caleb Ferguson.

Lastly, poor Jimmy Nelson, as predicted in this space months ago, is done as a Dodger, without throwing a single pitch.

And remember, glove conquers all.

Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.

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Howard Cole
HOWARD COLE

Howard Cole is a news and sports journalist in Los Angeles. Credits include Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Rolling Stone, LAT, OCR, Guardian, LA Weekly, Westways, VOSD, Prevention, Bakersfield Californian and Jewish Journal. Founding Director, IBWAA.

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