Gavin Lux is out for the season. What the hell do the Dodgers do now?
A brutal loss
We were all holding out a little bit of hope, but Dave Roberts confirmed the worst when speaking with reporters on Tuesday.
Gavin Lux will miss all of 2023 after suffering a torn ACL.
The play was truly a freak accident. It was a non-contact injury, as it appeared Lux was trying to avoid being hit by the throw from third base. He planted his leg awkwardly and tumbled into third base. Unable to put much weight on his leg, Lux had to be carted off the field.
Seeing the replay and seeing his reaction, we all expected the worst with how serious it looked. This is just a brutal injury for Lux and the Dodgers. After putting together a really good 2022 campaign, expectations were high surrounding him as he was projected to be LA’s every day shortstop this year.
Hell, yesterday I wrote about how Lux could be a solid leadoff option with Mookie Betts being willing to move down in the order.
The Dodgers’ depth was already being pretty thin when it came to the infield, now the options are looking really slim. With Lux out for the season and the Dodgers down a starting shortstop, what the hell are they going to do?
What are their options?
The most obvious choice is Miguel Rojas. By the way, thank goodness they traded for him when they did.
Defensively, he’s by far the Dodgers’ best option. In 2022, Rojas was 98th percentile in outs above average. He was tied for the league lead in Defensive Runs Saved (15) with Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña. To add more context to that, Dansby Swanson won the NL Gold Glove Award and had only nine.
Rojas was also second in all of baseball in Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Above Average. That statistic is the number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on the number of plays made.
He was a Gold Glove finalist last season, so you know you’re getting an elite glove at shortstop, something the Dodgers have lacked since they had Manny Machado.
The issue is what Rojas brings to the plate. 2022 was arguably his worst season as a hitter. In 140 games, he hit .236/.283/.323/.605 with an OPS+ of 72. For context, Cody Bellinger was viewed as one of the worst hitters in the National League last year, but he at least posted an OPS+ of 78.
Outside of 2020, Rojas has only posted an OPS+ above 100 once (103 in 2017). For those unfamiliar with the OPS+ statistic, 100 is league average. Speaking of 2020, Rojas had by far his best season at the plate. Granted, a very small sample size, but he was incredible. In 40 games, Rojas hit .304 with an OPS of .888 and an OPS+ of 138. Again, only 40 games, but he showed he’s more than capable of producing at the plate.
At this point, the Dodgers don’t need him to put up All-Star numbers at the plate. As long as he’s able to provide Gold Glove defense, that’ll be a win. Now, it’ll certainly help if he’s able to improve on his production last season. If Rojas can be just league average at the plate (100 OPS+) I think the Dodgers will take that in a heartbeat.
Outside of Rojas, your options with the big league club are pretty thin. Yesterday following the game, Dave Roberts said on SNLA to Kirsten Watson that Chris Taylor could be an option. Taylor does have 259 games of experience at the position and did come up through the minors as a shortstop, but he’s only played 44 games there since 2020.
If not Taylor… well, I really don’t know. Yonny Hernandez spent 196 games at the position throughout his time in the minors, so he has experience there. However, I’m not sure how much playing time the Dodgers would be willing to give to a player who struggled to post a .700 OPS in the minors.
I’m not even going to bother reading who the options in the minors would be. You don’t want to know. I’ll just say this. There’s nobody.
A trade?
The Dodgers have a month until the season starts, which offers them plenty of time to seek a trade. I’m not exactly sure who would be available or what the price would be, but I wouldn’t put it past the Dodgers to swing something.
There are certainly some intriguing names who the Dodgers could bring in, but maybe they opt to stand pat and ride it out with who they currently have.
Final thoughts
The Dodgers were already going to have to rely on their youth in 2023. Now, they’ll need them more than ever.
Miguel Vargas was already expected to see significant playing time, but his role just got bigger. With Taylor seeing potential time in the infield, that potentially opens up a spot for James Outman in the outfield. Michael Busch, who was likely going to start the season in the minors, has a greater chance of making the Opening Day roster now as the Dodgers will need an infielder.
This injury sucks. I feel horrible for Gavin Lux. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. It’s a huge blow for the Dodgers. We’ll see how they handle this situation over the next month leading up to the season.
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Man, when he said he heard something pop, that sent chills up my spine and personal experiences images through my brain. Lux was primed for a breakout year.
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