The Los Angeles Dodgers endured a full season without having their presumed everyday shortstop in Gavin Lux after he suffered a torn ACL and LCL in his right knee during Spring Training.
With a full year to rehab, all signs point to Lux being on track to regain a foothold of his place on the Dodgers roster. Lux’s last full season came in 2022, when he batted .276/.346/.399 over 129 games.
Although the process took a while, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted Lux’s work in getting himself prepared for the 2024 season and expects him to be fully recovered.
“Gavin, I think right now he’s working his way back,” Roberts recently said. “I think he’s more of an 80% baseball player, 20% rehab guy. So I think by Spring Training he’ll be 100% of a baseball player.
“I don’t see him taking down every game, but I see him as our shortstop, and so getting him back to health and then it comes to the performance piece.”
A bulk of Lux’s value came at the bottom of the Dodgers lineup, when he flashed great potential as a spark plug capable of flipping the batting order over and creating scoring opportunities with his speed. Not counting six home runs in 2022, Lux scored 54% of the times he reached base because of the talent at the top of the Dodgers lineup.
The Dodgers are likely to ease him back, providing veteran infielder Miguel Rojas with time early on while Lux gains his bearings. However, the Dodgers have high expectations for their former top prospect.
Will Gavin Lux be the Dodgers’ everyday shortstop?
Prior to injuring his knee in 2023 Spring Training, Lux was pegged as the everyday at shortstop. The build up for that opportunity was met with a great deal of optimism as Lux was poised to take a step forward in his career.
With a seemingly successful rehab process, Roberts and the Dodgers again have held off in brining in another concrete option at shortstop. Lux provides the Dodgers with athleticism, bat from the left side, and should see most to all of his time playing shortstop.
The only question remains is his durability, and how the knee will hold up over a full regular season.
There have been some rumblings about the Dodgers possibly trading for Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, but no deal has been rumored to having legs.
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