The Dodgers made the headlines Tuesday when the team announced that top prospect Gavin Lux had been cast. The team will send Lux to its outside facilities at USC for more reps and at-bats.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts appeared in front of the media Tuesday to discuss the move. For Roberts, getting Lux trapped was the first priority, and transferring him to USC allows that to happen much more effectively.
There are a lot of things that go into his swing, and he just wasn’t there right now, he wasn’t in sync. Nothing against him, it is right now where we are, we hope that Gavin records some at-bats off-site at USC and is ready when requested.
Lux was late to camp for personal reasons and never had so many live shifts. He only had three in the two combined games against the Diamondbacks in the past few days. When he was inside, the Dodgers’ second baseman also sent an easy shot from first base out of the air. Roberts clarified that his defense did not influence the decision.
I had a conversation with Gavin yesterday afternoon and therefore it is likely that it has come into play. So Gavin is very strong in mind and understands defense against offense, so that has nothing to do with it. It was just one of those nights and it’s probably my fault, so I talked to him, he wanted to be frank. And then he probably bled a bit into his psyche.
Lux will receive replays with some of the other players remaining in the 60 player pool. Roberts said there will not be enough Dodger players to make complete games within the squad. Instead, they’ll resort to live batting practice and simulation games to get Lux started. Hernández, Taylor and Muncy will have time in the second to fill the gap that leaves.
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