ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays may have addressed their need for a second baseman late Thursday night, as they agreed to acquire infielder Gavin Lux from the Reds as part of a three-team trade that sent right fielder Josh Lowe to the Angels, a source told MLB.com.
The Rays are poised to acquire Lux, once a top prospect in the Dodgers system, along with pitching prospect Chris Clark. Lux spent last season as a utility player for the Reds, but most of the 28-year-old’s professional experience has come at second base.
The clubs have not commented on or confirmed the deal.
TRADE DETAILS
Rays get: INF Gavin Lux (from Reds), RHP Chris Clark (from Angels)
Angels get: OF Josh Lowe (from Rays)
Reds get: LHP Brock Burke (from Angels)
The trade figures to shake up the Rays’ infield and outfield situation, as Lowe had been penciled in as the returning starter in right field and second base had been an open question since the Rays traded Brandon Lowe to the Pirates in another three-team trade earlier this offseason.
Now, Lux will be considered the leading candidate to handle second base on Opening Day. He could have some competition in Richie Palacios, another left-handed hitter who can play around the diamond, but the Rays seem to be making this trade with the idea of installing Lux at second base. President of baseball operations Erik Neander previously pointed to Palacios as the club’s top internal candidate for the position.
It’s a little less clear how things might shake out in the outfield. The Rays signed veteran Cedric Mullins to play center field, and speedster Chandler Simpson is best suited for left field. Trading Josh Lowe opens right field for veteran Jake Fraley, another veteran acquisition this offseason, or he could share time in the corner spot with right-handed-hitting outfielders Jonny DeLuca and Ryan Vilade.
Lux and Palacios can also play the outfield, and the Rays have more depth on the grass in the form of right-handed-hitting Justyn-Henry Malloy and recently acquired prospect Jacob Melton.
A first-round pick by the Dodgers in the 2016 Draft, Lux was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline entering the 2020 season following his debut in September 2019. He posted a 96 OPS+ while playing around the diamond over five seasons with the Dodgers, who dealt him to the Reds a year ago.
Last year, Lux hit .269/.350/.374 with five homers, 28 doubles, 53 RBIs and minus-0.2 bWAR in 140 games for the Reds. He was mostly used as a designated hitter and left fielder, although he still saw some work at second and third base.
Lux is set to earn $5.525 million this year before reaching free agency at the end of the season. The Rays took on salary in the deal, as Lowe is set to earn $2.6 million this year while remaining under club control through the end of the 2028 season.
The Rays had maintained a stubborn belief in Lowe, their first-round pick in the 2016 Draft, and he rewarded their faith during a breakout 2023 season in which he hit .292/.335/.500 with 20 homers, 32 steals and 3.7 bWAR in 135 games. But injuries derailed his ascent the past two years and kept him from reaching his potential even when he was on the field, as he recorded a .230/.292/.378 slash line and totaled 0.8 bWAR in 214 games.
Clark, a 24-year-old starter, was selected by the Angels in the fifth round of the 2023 Draft out of Harvard and posted a 4.73 ERA while pitching at Single-A, High-A and Double-A.