Former Reds trade acquisition's comeback with Rays stalled after injury update

The pesky Los Angeles Dodgers have a way of making trades always go their way, and the Cincinnati Reds' 2025 trade deadline deal with them, which shuttled outfield prospect Mike Sirota to LA and utility man Gavin Lux to Cincinnati, was no exception.

Lux was fine enough in his one season with the Reds, but his .269 average and .724 OPS through 140 games was nothing to write home about. That's not to mention his 11th percentile fielding run value between left field, second base, and third.

Cincinnati let him go in the offseason in a three-way trade with the Angels and Rays. Lux went to the Rays, Josh Lowe went to the Angels, and Brock Burke came to the Reds.

Lux was shut down quickly during spring training with a right shoulder impingement, then suffered a sprained ankle during a rehab assignment. The Rays sent him back to Triple-A to try again in late April, but he's been shut down again, this time with a different shoulder injury.

He'll undergo imaging, but Rays manager Kevin Cash has already said he'll be out for "the forseeable future."

Former Reds trade bust Gavin Lux shut down for the third time this season with Rays

Burke, meanwhile, has been solid outside of his five-run inning against the Pirates on May 2 that we don't need to talk about.

The Rays planned to make Lux their everyday second baseman, though he spent most of his time last year as the Reds' DH or in left field. Second is a more natural position for Lux, who came up as a shortstop but was shuffled to second by the Dodgers when it was clear he couldn't hack it at arguably the toughest position on the diamond.

Lux has spent a lot of his once-promising career sidelined by injury. He missed all of 2023 after a knee surgery and has never lived up to the same promise he once had as the No. 2 prospect in baseball.

The Reds are lucky that they let him go when they did. Matt McLain has continued to struggle offensively, but Spencer Steer is an above-average hitter this year and his defense in left field has improved.

Still, it's tough to see Lux taking yet another injury blow when his career has been riddled with them already. For his sake, we hope he manages to get back out there sometime this season.

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