3 Dodgers players who have one last chance to make impact in 2025

2. The shine has worn off Gavin Lux and it's going to be harder than ever to find him regular playing time in 2025

A first-round pick in 2016, Gavin Lux was supposed to play a critical role in this era of Dodgers baseball. He came into the 2020 season ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the game by MLB Pipeline, surrounded by sky-high expectations. Instead, he's been, more or less, a slightly below-average to average presence constantly overshadowed by the seemingly endless list of superstars around him. That'll get you a ring and a spot in the lineup, but Lux feels eminently upgradeable.

Across parts of four seasons and 412 games in a Dodgers uniform, Lux has been worth just 7.6 bWAR and carries a .252/.326/.383 slash line - good for a 96 OPS+. He didn't create much momentum for himself in October, batting just .176/.286/.294 in 43 trips to the plate this postseason. It would be one thing if he were an elite defender, but he's been a run-of-the-mill defensive player since breaking into the league back in 2019 as a 21-year-old.

The team's World Series run could have been the end of the road for Lux in Los Angeles, but with Mookie Betts shifting to shortstop full-time in 2025 and Tommy Edman ticketed as the team's full-time center fielder, Lux will move back to second base with a chance to, once again, prove himself.

But that is easier said than done.

In 2024, Lux graded out at -2 OAA, spending all but one game at second base. In 2021 and 2022, he graded out far more favorably at second - and he'll need to return to that level if he wants to have significant value to the team. Failing to do so wouldn't bode well for him holding things down moving forward - especially with the depth this team has on the roster, including not only Edman, who can play multiple positions, but veterans Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas, the latter of whom is coming off a very strong campaign.

The defense wasn't great this season and his best year with the stick has him at a 109 OPS+. That's not to say he's not a decent big leaguer, because he is. But given the Dodgers' nature of attacking weak spots on the roster, it's worth wondering how long of a leash he'll have in 2025. The clock is pretty clearly ticking on this former top prospect, and if he can't prove he belongs on this powerful roster, he may be a prime change-of-scenery candidate by this time next year.