Another team predicted Kim Hye-sung to go to Dodgers...Three days after the contract, he made a "luxury trade."
Another team predicted Kim Hye-sung to go to Dodgers...Three days after the contract, he made a "luxury trade."
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There was a team that learned in advance that Kim Hye-sung (26) would go to the LA Dodgers. Three days after Kim's contract was announced, the Cincinnati Reds acquired Gavin Lux (28), the main second baseman of the Dodgers, in a trade.
On the 7th (Korea Standard Time), Cincinnati signed a trade with Mike Cirota (22), the team's 14th-ranked minor league outfielder, to give the Dodgers the right to select the 2025 rookie draft competition balance round A pick (37th overall).
The Dodgers, which signed a three-plus-two-year guaranteed $12.5 million contract with Korean infielder Kim Hye-sung on the 4th, arranged Lux, the main second baseman, in a trade three days after that. "MLB.com " said, "The Dodgers were saturated with the recruitment of Korean infielder Kim Hye-sung to Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor," adding, "Kim Hye-sung and Lux are both left-handed hitters in the same position, and Kim Hye-sung was initially evaluated as a super utility. With Lux being traded, Kim Hye-sung is now expected to gain much more playing time at second base."
Cincinnati was aware of the Dodgers' move. "We thought it would be possible to trade Luxe for a few weeks and had a conversation about it internally," Cincinnati's president of baseball Nick Kroll said. "We knew the Dodgers were trying to save another player, and we were keeping an eye on it. Things were going on within a few days after they signed Kim Hye-sung."
Although Lux escaped the Dodgers, many players are eligible for second base. Besides Kim Hye-seong, who is the main second baseman, veteran Taylor and Rojas can also play second base 안전놀이터. There is a possibility that Mookie Betts, who is preparing as a shortstop for the new season, will move to second base, which has less burden on defense, depending on the situation. Edman, an all-weather utility, also has extensive experience in second base play, and the Lux trade does not mean that Kim will become the main second baseman of the Dodgers. However, it is obvious that Kim Hye-seong's inclusion in the Dodgers made the infield depth thicker, which became the decisive factor in the Lux trade.
Right-handed and left-handed infielder Lux was a former top prospect who was selected as the 20th overall pick in the first round in the 2016 draft and was a player that the Dodgers kept rather than using as a trade card. However, since his Major League debut in 2019, he has not been as big as expected with a batting average of 252 (336 hits in 1,333) of 412 games in five seasons until last year.
During the 2023 exhibition game, he was injured during baserunning play and was out for the season after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery, which was the fatal blow to his career. After returning from rehabilitation, he garnered high expectations as the starting shortstop last year, but returned to the second base at the exhibition game by showing deep defense anxiety. Amid sluggish batting in the first half of the year, he posted an average of 251 batting average (with 110 hits in 439 at-bats) with 10 homers and 50 RBIs in 139 games, with an OPS of .703. After seeing his limitations in Lux, the Dodgers started to deal with infield traffic through trade.
Lux, who left two World Series titles in 2020 and 2024 with the Dodgers, will now make a fresh start in Cincinnati. However, it is uncertain whether he will be a starting second baseman in the new team.
Cincinnati traded Jonathan India, a former National League Rookie of the Year in 2021, in exchange for Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer, but Matt McClain, a first-round prospect who had a successful debut season in 2023, will return after shoulder surgery and rehabilitation. McClain can play shortstop, but Elie de la Cruz, who has grown into a star Cincinnati player, has become the main shortstop. Lux is likely to move to a position other than second base.
"Lux has great potential. There is room for improvement. I think he is a high-quality left-handed hitter who can elevate our batters," Kroll said. "Last year, we were at the bottom of the WAR in positions of third, first and designated hitters. We also see him as a designated hitter at second base and outfield. We will look at third base and shortstop as well to find a suitable position for Lux in various positions."