The big dogs can’t steal the headlines forever. Eventually other teams are going to have to start making moves and finally another one has. It has not been the loudest offseason for the Cincinnati Reds, but they’ve done quite a bit of work. Their latest move was bringing in second baseman Gavin Lux from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With Lux coming in, the Reds sent prospect Mike Sirota and a compensation pick. The move made all the sense in the world for the Dodgers, but also the Reds. So let’s break it down.

Lux Fits the Reds Roster

It does not always have to be the flashy move. Sure you can always go out and get the best players, but sometimes it is about getting the right players. For the Reds, they get a reliable player in Lux and he checks off a lot of different boxes.

First off, Lux can play multiple positions. Whether it is second baseman (primary position), short stop, or left field, manager Terry Francona has options. The Dodgers utilized him well in the bottom of their lineup, primarily deploying him as a platoon second baseman that can mash right handed pitching.

There was a good reason for that. Lux struggled mightily against left handed pitching, hitting .157 with a .394 OPS. Against righties? He hit .262 while slugging .407 and a .739 OPS. An absurd difference, but that’s okay. Francona can deploy him however he sees fit.

Lux finished the entirety of the 2024 season slashing .251/.320/.383/.703 and with 100 wRC+. He spent the entire season at second base, but for the first time in his career he was a negative defender. Overall, the Reds are getting a quality player who’s is under team control for two more seasons.  Now it comes full circle for the wint

A Full Circle Winter for the Reds

At the beginning of the winter, the Reds executed the perfect baseball trade. They traded a player that they had enough depth from to land a premiere pitcher to round out the rotation. The player the Reds traded was second baseman Johnathan India and they acquired Kansas City Royals pitcher Brady Singer. Reds needed pitching, Royals needed a bat and it’s a match made in heaven. That brings us to this trade.

While parting ways with India felt inevitable and was going to happen anyways, it left a hole at the second baseman position. Landing Singer was huge and it’ll give the Reds a fierce rotation. So the Reds took advantage of a situation that presented itself.

The Dodgers had an influx of infielders after signing Hye-seong Kim from the KBO. Kim can be a platoon infielder and is likely going to slot in at second base with Mookie Betts playing short stop. That made Lux expendable and the Reds pounced on it.

They dealt from the position to address the pitching and dealt a prospect originally drafted by the Dodgers to land Lux. It’s completely a full circle winter for the Reds and a tidy bit of work from front office from an asset management standpoint.

Lux also brings a championship pedigree with him to the Reds organization. He won two titles with the Dodgers and for a Reds team looking to take the next steps, that’s not a bad player to have in your clubhouse. Overall, this is a really sneaky good move for the Reds and what’s been a quietly good offseason in a division that’s completely up for grabs.