Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Gavin Lux May See Time at a New Position with Pollock’s Return

With less than two weeks left in the season and a lot left to play for, the Dodgers find themselves in a place they don’t want to be in. Injuries have been an issue all season long, and just when the team thought they had turned a corner, a new set of problems appeared.

The Dodgers recently place Cody Bellinger on the Injured List with a rib injury and also have Chris Taylor sidelined with a neck issue. Thankfully Mookie Betts is healthy, but the ball club will need to find a a way to cover the other two outfield spots. They currently have guys like Luke Raley and Matt Beaty, as well as a rushed back AJ Pollock. Gavin Lux has also been seeming time in left field, but who’s going to man centerfield? According to Dave Roberts, Lux should see some time out there.



“With Gavin, he’s obviously in there (Wednesday night) in left field. I’m going to start him (on Thursday) in center field, so that get’s us through this series. When we get to Arizona we’ll kind of see where AJ is at, see where [Chris Taylor] is at, and all those other guys.”

It’s a little concerning to have someone who has only played 9 games in the outfield, all of which have come in left field. Lux has had some growing pains learning the new position on the fly, though he’s been serviceable. It’s still fair to wonder why Doc doesn’t think to slide Mookie over, or even Trea Turner who has 45 career starts in center field.

Related: Gavin Lux Discusses the Biggest Challenge With Moving to the Outfield

AJ Pollock also came up as a centerfielder, but the team must want to stay away from having him reinjure his right hamstring. Notably, utility man Chris Taylor is still dealing with a neck issue

It’ll be interesting to see how Gavin’s first appearance at the new position plays out, especially in Coors Field. The Dodgers play a matinee there today before heading out to Arizona for the final series against the Diamondbacks in 2021.

NEXT: Bellinger to IL, Should LA Have Kept Yoshi Tsutsugo?

13 Comments

  1. so you got Trea T out of position @ second, when he is a SS or outfielder…put him in Outfield and Luxie @ second….you are experimenting @ this time of year…..geez, oh…I get already planning for next year…..

    1. Correct, Kingman. Injuries have forced this issue somewhat but I still get called out for my views as to how Roberts is mismanaging the lineups and certain players. If Dodgers fall short come October, plenty of blame will go around and Roberts, even though he doesn’t play the games IS just as much to blame as anyone else.

    2. You are absolutely correct, Trae is not a second baseman and would be more valuable in the outfield since Cory has short stop locked up. I realize Trae has very little experience at 2nd and it really shows. His pivot on a 6/4/3 or 5/4/3 doubly play is wrong and his tendency to flip the ball to Cory no matter the distance on a 4/6/3 is also wrong. All of these plays to be successful depend on timing with the feed and since he uses the flip method, it causes Cory problems with his timing. With Pollock and Taylor now ready to play, Lux back at 2nd makes more sense, he can play that position. To use Lux today in center would be a cause of serious potential problems with all the ground he will have to cover and he is just now learning to play the outfield. You could land a small plane in that outfield it is so spacious.

  2. Here we are in Sept, with 10 games left on the schedule, and you are still playing guys out of position. T.Turner is a shortstop or outfielder, and moving him to 2nd, is not an easy transition as it looks. I played a lot of infield, and 2nd was the one I had the most problems adjusting to. Everything seems backwards there, and when you have problems defensively, those problems end up carrying over into other situations, like base running, and that is exactly what happened last night. I attribute this constant switching positions with nearly everyone in the lineup, with the lack of performance in recent games, while other teams, like say the Cardinals, have a more or less set lineup, and continue to win nearly every day. I realize that injuries can change lineup situations, but the Dodgers need to minimize those changes, IMHO, and stay with a more set lineup. As to who plays center, Mookie works for me. Why put Lux over there when he is still trying to adjust to LF? It is just more confusion when it comes to defense, and we certainly already have enough of that!

  3. It’s window dressing at this point, because they don;t look capable of actually catching the Giants and the only question now is who do they face in the WC? It does make more sense to put Lux back at second and move Turner to the outfield, but we don’t know what Turner feels about that. One would assume that Roberts has talked to Turner about this and maybe he is comfortable with second base. The fact that Lux is hitting – especially in crucial spots – complicates things, but the fact that Bellinger is not is making it somewhat easier. At any rate, I am more concerned that we are seeing some wear down at the top of the rotation. Urias is losing speed and Buehler hasn’t looked good in September. Unfortunately, Scherzer can’t pitch every game.

  4. Or, another novel idea. Leave Lux in left. We need his bat right now. Put Pollock in center where he won a Gold Glove with Arizona? Betts back to right. Taylor still as a Swiss army knife.

  5. As evidenced on Friday night’s game Gavin is a player with many talents. He will play wherever they want him, he’s just happy to be there and no inflated salary (Bellinger) or ego to get in the way.

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