With the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring training in full swing in Glendale, Arizona, Gavin Lux has already started his redemption journey just 11 miles away in Goodyear.
A former first-round pick and highly touted prospect for the Dodgers, Lux spent six seasons with the team, winning two World Series titles before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds in January in exchange for outfield prospect Mike Sirota and a draft pick.
In Los Angeles, Lux struggled against left-handed pitching and was primarily limited to second base. Now, in his first spring training with the Reds, he’s eager to prove his former team wrong.
“You always have that chip on your shoulder,” Lux told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “You want to show you can play on the left side of the infield, hit lefties—whatever that chip is. Every player has one, and for me, that’s a big one.”
Gavin Lux’s most recent comments are clearly a shot at Dodgers for doubting him
Lux became expendable to the Dodgers after they signed elite defender Hyeseong Kim from Korea during the offseason. With that addition and the team’s reluctance to give Lux consistent at-bats or opportunities at multiple positions, his departure from Los Angeles seemed inevitable.
“You never really expect it after being in one place for so long,” Lux told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “But at the end of the day, it’s a business. They have to do what’s best for them. And I think they did right by me, sending me to a team that expects to win… a place where they believe I can contribute.”
Lux faced the Dodgers for the first time as a member of the Reds in a Cactus League game at Goodyear Ballpark on Monday. Starting at third base, he went 0-for-2 with a walk in Cincinnati’s 8-1 victory. Fittingly, all three Dodgers pitchers he faced were left-handers.
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