Gavin Lux Admits He Was Surprised to Be Traded By Dodgers

When the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Gavin Lux last month, the baseball world was surprised.

On paper, the shrinking availability around the infield made it apparent that a deal would have to be made. It was still striking that a homegrown talent who first appeared for L.A. in 2019 would be the one let go.

As reported by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Dodgers faithful were not the only ones shocked by the move.

“It was a little bit of a surprise, but it’s a business,” Lux said to The Athletic. “It is what it is. … I think going through the knee stuff, dealing with that adversity, kind of set me up to be prepared for anything that gets thrown your way a little bit.”

As he was gearing up to be the shortstop of the future for Los Angeles, Lux tore his ACL and LCL during spring training in 2023, sidelining him for the entire season.

As he rehabbed to be back stronger than ever, 2024 saw him hit career-highs in home runs (10), RBIs (50), and games played (139). His final at-bat as a Dodger proved to be crucial as it was an 8th inning game-tying sacrifice fly in Game 5 of the World Series.

L.A. would take the lead to secure its eighth World Series victory two batters later.

Lux spoke on what it meant to be traded after such a monumental championship run.

“It was emotional at first. I mean, we just won the World Series, too. It’s pretty much the only place I’ve ever known and the only staff I’ve ever known,” Lux said to The Athletic. “I’ve got a lot of love for those guys over there and the staff and I’ve got a lot of good relationships with those guys. It was emotional at first, but once it kind of dies down, you just kind of get excited to be around your new team and meet the guys and just try to get past all that so you can go win games.”

It will certainly take some getting used to seeing Lux on the Cincinnati Reds in 2025, but Dodgers fans will have their hands full as L.A. looks to become baseball’s first back-to-back champions in a quarter-century.

Rob Manfred gets brutally honest on Dodgers’ spending spree

The Los Angeles Dodgers have thrown around some serious money during this offseason, signing Blake Snell for $182 million, Tanner Scott for $72 million, Teoscar Hernandez for $66 million, Blake Treinen for $22 million, and a handful of other contracts

This comes a year after they signed Shohei Ohtani for a whopping $700 million. Oh, and they won the 2024 World Series.

Naturally, less competitive MLB teams who don’t or can’t spend as much aren’t going to be thrilled seeing the Dodgers have the highest payroll in MLB history; they’re going to be paying a $142 million luxury tax, an amount that is higher than the payroll of nearly a dozen other teams.

But Commissioner Rob Manfred has voiced his approval of the moves the Dodgers have made, and said they’ve done so within the rules, via X.

“[The Dodgers] have gone out and done everything possible, always within the rules that currently exist, to put the best possible team on the field,” he said. “I think that’s a great thing. That type of competitive spirit is what people want to see.”

“It’s clear we have fans in some markets that are concerned about the ability of the team in their market to compete with the financial resources of the Dodgers. If we’ve been consistent on one point, we try to listen to our fans on topics like this. And I have heard people, believe me.”

“If I’m going to be critical of something, it’s not going to be the Dodgers. It’s going to be the system.”