Dodgers Appear Set at Shortstop Position for 2024

A healthy Gavin Lux has a chance to round out the best lineup in franchise history.

As historically excellent as the 1-2-3 punch of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani can be, the 2024 Dodgers will need more than three hitters contributing on a nightly basis to achieve their goal of winning the World Series. 

In spring training last season, shortstop Gavin Lux's torn ACL thrust Miguel Rojas into the starting spot. Offensively, the veteran underwhelmed. Rojas finished the season with a .290 OBP and a .322 slugging percentage – nearly 10% below the league average — while earning his starts by providing stellar defense.

Rojas was never expected to replace the bat of Lux, who led the National League in triples in 2022. Fortunately, he won't have to in 2024. Lux appears prepared to return in the coming months, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com: 

"Lux is feeling healthier and has been working out at Dodger Stadium all winter. The key for him this spring will be showing that he can move laterally into the holes to make plays on the surgically repaired knee. It’ll be a big spring for Lux, as the Dodgers will likely go into the season with the 26-year-old as their starting shortstop."

This is big news for the Dodgers. Lux, 24, has showed promise over the past few years. In 2019 he was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. Despite a slow start to his major league career, the former No. 2 prospect hit .276 with a .745 OPS in 2022, giving the Dodgers an above-average bat out of the number-9 position in the batting order.

Prior to suffering a neck injury that season, Lux was batting .307 with a .817 OPS. Expect his development arc as a hitter to pick up from there. He will be hard-pressed to replicate Rojas' prowess in the field, but has a chance to round out one of the best lineups in franchise history. 

Any improvement over Rojas at the plate is a boost for the Dodgers. Lux will have an opportunity to prove himself as the future shortstop of the Dodgers while improving the consistency and reliability of the back end of the lineup.