Dodgers News: Team Not Concerned if Gavin Lux is Starting Shortstop Next Season

Dodgers president Andrew Friedman says the team would "feel good" about Gavin Lux as their starting shortstop, but we're skeptical.

The Dodgers' starting shortstop is a free agent who might not be coming back. Trea Turner reached free agency this week, and there figures to be a pretty high demand for the 30-year-old All-Star. 

There are three other big-name shortstops on the market, too, and L.A. president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on Tuesday the team will be in touch with all three of them as they and Trea both weigh their options.

The more notable part of Friedman's comment, though, was his suggestion that the Dodgers don't need to sign any of the big names because they have a perfectly fine replacement for Trea already on the roster.

Andrew Friedman said #Dodgers "will have discussions with the other free agent shortstops as well while Trea (Turner) is going out and exploring things on his end."
Also said they "feel good" about Gavin Lux taking over as every-day SS if it plays out that way.

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) November 9, 2022

Gavin Lux played shortstop every day for Los Angeles for a couple months in 2021, between when Corey Seager broke his hand in May and when he joined Seager on the injured list in July. In 59 games at short (including 50 starts), Lux made seven errors and posted a -4 Outs Above Average. But 2021 Lux also didn't hit well, posting a .692 OPS on the season and almost exactly that same number during his time as starting shortstop. A shortstop who doesn't field well or hit well isn't very inspiring, but a shortstop who doesn't field well but does hit well ... well, that's something Dodger fans have become quite familiar with over the years.

Lux hit better in 2022, and there's reason to think there's more in the tank for him offensively. If he could improve the defense a little bit and the hitting a little bit, he'd be a perfectly reasonable option as a starting shortstop. But yeah, when the argument in favor boils down to "if he hits better and fields better, he'll be fine," chances are they're not actually going to go that route.