To his credit, Gavin Lux’s bat did spark to life in the second half of the 2024 season, when he batted .304 with a .899 OPS, despite driving expectations down with his spring training and first half.
But when the Los Angeles Dodgers traded him to the Reds on Jan. 6, it still felt like they were removing a weak link from the lineup.
The Dodgers gave Lux a lot of time — maybe too much, if you ask some fans — to settle into the majors and live up to expectations.
While he was performing at a high level by the end of the year, he was still the odd man out on the Dodgers’ stacked 2025 lineup.
Now that he’s gone, LA will have more opportunities to play around with their infield configurations and give a couple of bench players, especially Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor, more time on the field.
It could also loosen up Tommy Edman’s role in center field, which could allow Andy Pages to get more reps in the outfield.
However, Rojas and Taylor may not be as safe as they think. Sonja Chen of MLB.com named them, along with James Outman, the three likeliest players to be traded after Lux.
Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor, James Outman named as likely Dodgers trade candidates by MLB.com
The Dodgers exercised their club option on Rojas for the 2025 season, Taylor is in his last guaranteed year, and Outman is still two years away from arbitration eligibility.
Rojas and Outman would both have some value as trade pieces — Rojas had a great 2024 season, and Outman still has former top prospect stock despite spending most of the year in the minors.
Taylor would be a problem for the Dodgers to deal. He barely batted over .200 in 2024, when he was making $13 million. He’ll make the same amount in 2025, and the Dodgers would be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to take him on without having to maintain responsibility for most of the money.
That could be an easy pill for the Dodgers to swallow, though, if they get desperate enough to push Taylor off the roster in order to upgrade the bench.
He did have a nice September, batting .333, which leaves some room to hope that something will click again in 2025. He just has to hope it happens before an inconsequential month, because it wouldn’t be altogether surprising if the Dodgers decided to release him altogether if he’s not up to snuff.
