About 72 hours after signing Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim and swearing that they had no plans to trade Gavin Lux, the Los Angeles Dodgers did, in fact, trade Gavin Lux, sending their former first-round pick to the Cincinnati Reds in return for outfield prospect Mike Sirota and the No. 37 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Posturing aside, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Lux from the minute news of Kim’s signing broke. Lux looked better and better last season the further he got from his ACL tear, but he’s never been able to put everything together over the course of a full season, and with Kim offering a very similar combination of athleticism and defensive versatility, it’s no surprise that the Dodgers let Lux play out his final two seasons of arbitration elsewhere.
Plus, one look at L.A.’s lineup with Lux moving on makes clear that Los Angeles could absolutely afford to make this move, especially as it gives them even more assets with which to bolster their farm system moving forward.
Here’s how the Dodgers lineup is shaping up as things stand, keeping in mind that GM Brandon Gomes said earlier this month that Teoscar Hernandez is ticketed for left field and newcomer Michael Conforto will be playing right.
|
Batting order |
Player |
Position |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Shohei Ohtani |
DH |
|
2 |
Mookie Betts |
SS |
|
3 |
Freddie Freeman |
1B |
|
4 |
Teoscar Hernandez |
RF |
|
5 |
Max Muncy |
3B |
|
6 |
Will Smith |
C |
|
7 |
Michael Conforto |
LF |
|
8 |
Hyeseong Kim |
2B |
|
9 |
Tommy Edman |
CF |
That’s about as stacked a lineup as you’ll find anywhere in baseball. It brings a little bit of everything: a near-even balance of lefties and righties, a bunch of power, some speed, players who can take walks, and players who can make a ton of contact.
The top four remains the same as it was when the team won the World Series last October, as the team seems to love Ohtani in the leadoff spot and the ability to stagger lefties and righties down the line.
Betts, Freeman and Hernandez are solidly the team’s three best hitters outside of Ohtani, and compromise one of the best hearts of the order in the sport.
From there, We’ll give Muncy the nod over Smith, as Dave Roberts will likely opt against putting two straight lefties in the fifth and sixth spots.
You could probably flip-flop Kim and Edman here, but Kim figures to be an excellent situational hitter, while Edman was a constant thorn in opponents’ sides putting a man on for Ohtani and the rest of the top of the order.
With Kim in tow and Lux headed elsewhere, this could just about wrap up the Dodgers’ lineup shuffling for the winter, with an Enrique Hernandez reunion no longer seeming to be in the cards.
From here, Los Angeles will likely pivot to its pitching staff, with the pursuit of Roki Sasaki (and a big-time bullpen arm like Tanner Scott, maybe?) at the top of the list.
