by Chris Ball

Loveland, Ohio – When the Reds signed Terry Francona it kicked expectations into high gear for the offseason. Cincinnati has made several acquisitions already including catcher Jose Trevino, Roansy Contreras, and Brady Singer.

But on Monday night the team announced a big trade for Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Gavin Lux. In return Cincinnati sent away outfielder prospect Mike Sirota.

Lux was hurt for all of 2023 and missed the entire year due to a torn ACL. And he had a very tough start to 2024. But in the second half of the season he slashed .304/.391/.508, playing much better down the stretch for the Dodgers. Overall for 2024 Lux hit .251/.320/.383, though he had some nagging issues against left handed pitching while playing for the Dodgers. He is a career.202/.279/.274 hitter against left handers, but hit .264/.337/.408 against righties.

The question now is how Lux will fit into the Reds lineup and in the field. Remember this was a team that just traded away fan favorite infielder Jonathan India. With Lux being predominantly a second baseman, it raises some thoughts that Matt McLain may spend more significant time in the outfield. McLain spent time in center field in the Arizona fall league this season and could figure to play more there (or at least somewhere in the outfield) this year. I would expect to see a lot of him in the outfield in spring training.

The most important aspect of this trade is that Lux is someone who has the ability to help the Reds win in 2025. He’s not a young player or a long term project. If he can capitalize on the offensive production he showed to close out 2024 and keep that going in ‘25 this offense will be all the better. Lux is under team control for two more seasons and is projected to make between $2.5 million and $3 million through arbitration this winter.

There has been a lot of national discussion that this trade doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Reds. They need corner outfield bats and already have a bevy of players in the middle infield who have a lot of talent. At the same time, there is likely more going on behind the scenes that we might not yet understand. The offseason is still young and more moves could be on the horizon. This is a positive and impactful move and let’s just wait and see where the pieces will fall into place.

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Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

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