With Los Angeles Dodgers spring training well underway in Glendale, Ariz., the Gavin Lux revenge tour has already begun about 11 miles away in Goodyear.
A former first-round pick and highly regarded prospect with the Dodgers, Lux won a pair of World Series during his six years with the organization before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds in January for outfield prospect Mike Sirota and a draft pick.
In Los Angeles, Lux became known for his inability to hit left-handed pitching and was pigeonholed at second base. Now, at his first spring training with the Reds, he is determined to prove that his former team was wrong about him.
“Always, I think you have that chip on your shoulder,” Lux said (via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). “I think you always want to prove that you can play on the left side of the infield, you can hit lefties, whatever that chip is. Every guy has a different chip. For me, I think that’s one of them.”
Gavin Lux's most recent comments are clearly a shot at Dodgers for doubting him
Lux became expendable to the Dodgers once they signed defensive standout Hyeseong Kim out of Korea during the offseason. Between that signing and the Dodgers' hesitancy to give Lux consistent at-bats or play him at multiple positions, the writing was on the wall for his future in Los Angeles.
“Obviously you still don’t really expect it after being in one place for so long," Lux said (via Harris). "But at the same time, it is a business. They have to do what’s best for them. And I think they did me a solid by getting me to a place that has the expectation of winning. … A place where I think they think I can help.”
Lux faced his former team for the first time as a member of the Reds in a Cactus League game at Goodyear Ballpark on Monday. He started at third base and went 0-for-2 with a walk in what would end up being an 8-1 Cincinnati win. Coincidentally (or not?), all three Dodgers pitchers he faced were lefties.
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