LHP Brock Burke comes to the Reds in return.
We thought the deal to acquire Gavin Lux from the Los Angeles Dodgers this time last offseason was an odd one for the Cincinnati Reds. Lux, a former top prospect at short, had been moved off the position due to his lack of defensive prowess, and his bat had never yet lived up to the hopes he’d shown in a prolific minor league career.
The Reds tried to shoehorn him into some work in the corner outfield, to no avail. He didn’t fit at 3B with a lack of arm strength, and his glovework at 2B wasn’t anything to really write home about, either. As a result, he became pretty much relegated to work at DH – he’s a decent hitter, to his credit – albeit as one who provided about as little pop as possible.
All that, and he’s only playable at DH against right-handed pitchers, his platoon splits a disaster when facing southpaws.
It was enough to wonder whether the Reds would even tender him a contract for 2026 in this, his final year of arbitration before reaching free agency. He was due to make some $5 million, and while that’s not an abominable fee for a player of his ilk, it seemed a bit rich for a spendthrift Reds club that simply didn’t have a good enough roster to afford the luxury of a guy who never plays defense anywhere and only hits singles against RHP.
We continued to suggest that he was likely on the trade block. Late Thursday evening, he was no longer on the trade block, as he was actually dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team deal involving the Los Angeles Angels that netted the Reds left-handed reliever Brock Burke. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had the initial news, though we’re still waiting on all the details to emerge.
On the Lux front, the Reds must feel confident that they’ve got enough DH aplomb in-house already. From the left-handed side, they’ll have one of JJ Bleday or Will Benson available each day. From the right, one of Sal Stewart or Spencer Steer will be off of 1B and in need of PA. They are currently carrying a trio of catchers on the 40-man roster, so Tyler Stephenson could even see some DH work on days when he’s not behind the plate, though I do doubt the Reds will actually end up carrying Ben Rortvedt once Opening Day rolls around.
One thing that does become obvious with no Lux, though, is that he won’t even be around to feign the role as ‘backup middle infielder’ now that Santiago Espinal is a free agent. Matt McLain, in theory, is the de facto backup shortstop to Elly De La Cruz, but if McLain is at short here and there, no Lux means there’s precious little on the current roster to man 2B on those days. Maybe that’ll end up being a non-roster guy like Garrett Hampson or Michael Chavis, as unappealing as that sounds. Maybe Sal Stewart really will get some chances to play 2B. Maybe they are higher on Edwin Arroyo as a utility infield option already.
We’ll find out about that quite soon, I’m sure.
In Burke, they’re gettin an established LHP who fired 61.2 IP of 3.36 ERA/4.16 FIP ball last year for the Angels, a guy who’ll make roughly $2.5 million in his own final year of arbitration before reaching free agency. It’s a bullpen bolstering move, one that brings in a guy who excels at getting both soft contact and groundballs on his offerings. You may recall that the Reds, at one point, had each of Brent Suter, Sam Moll, and Taylor Rogers as LHP options out of the bullpen last year, and despite bringing in Caleb Ferguson earlier this offseason were still sans Suter and Rogers. So, this helps solidify a need down there in a big, big way.
This move will save the Reds a bit of coin, unless late news comes out that they’ve had to send money in the deal. It also helps to balance the roster in a better way, even if it means they now have other pertinent decisions to make.
Category: General Sports
