Sports
News Analysis: With Gavin Lux gone, how Dodgers might deploy more versatile lineup in 2025
By removing a key piece from their personnel puzzle this week, the Dodgers roster picture might actually be somewhat clearer.
Gone is Gavin Lux, the homegrown infielder who, after years of trade speculation, was finally dealt to the Cincinnati Reds for a prospect and draft pick on Monday. What remains is a lineup trait the club desires most, having enhanced the “optionality” — as Dodgers brass likes to say — of a position player group that can now be mixed and matched next season in a number of new ways.
With Lux, the Dodgers lineup seemed somewhat cemented. He and Mookie Betts would’ve been up the middle at second base and shortstop, respectively. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy would’ve played every day at the corner infield spots. And Michael Conforto, Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández would have been locked into the three outfield spots.
That was a potentially potent collection of talent.
But once the team landed Korean utility infielder Hyeseong Kim last week, they were suddenly limited in how they could deploy their vast arsenal of versatile weapons.
That’s why, even as general manager Brandon Gomes maintained public support for Lux in the wake of the Kim signing, a trade involving the former first-round pick — or one of the team’s other numerous middle infielder options — always appeared likely.
So, while the team will be sacrificing potential offensive upside in Lux, who came to life late last season in his return from a torn ACL, it is banking on the overall versatility of the roster instead, turning what once looked like a relatively defined lineup into much more of a blank canvas.
Come opening day, Freeman and Muncy will still be the corner infielders. Hernández and Conforto will still be in right and left, respectively. But up the middle, the team could toy around with different ideas, and experiment with myriad ways to maximize production.
So far this offseason, the team has remained committed to giving Betts an extended run back at shortstop, where he started last season before shifting to right field following his return from a broken hand. In a perfect world, Betts will continue to develop defensively into a legitimate everyday option at the position. But if he doesn’t, the club will now have a much simpler fall-back plan, capable of sliding him over to a second base position he has handled much more seamlessly in recent seasons.
In the meantime, Kim could take over Lux’s role at second base, at least as a platoon option against right-handed pitching. And if a need at shortstop arises later in the year, Kim could also contribute there — something the Dodgers seemed more hesitant to do with Lux, after his defensive struggles at the shortstop throughout his career.
Lux’s departure could also alter Edman’s role. Instead of being locked into an everyday spot in center, there might be more infield opportunities for the smooth-fielding utilityman, who served as the Dodgers’ primary shortstop in last year’s World Series run.
The knock-on effects won’t end there. Where second-year outfielder Andy Pages previously seemed boxed out of consistent playing time, he might now have a pathway to more regular at-bats against left-handed pitching. There is more playing time to go around for bench options like Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor as well.
The cost of all this, of course, is the loss of Lux’s potentially dynamic bat. Though the former top prospect never consistently met the sky-high expectations that accompanied him over his five-year Dodgers tenure, he showed flashes of impact production near the end of last season, batting .304 with a .899 OPS over the second half of the season.
There might not be any one player to compensate for that, including Kim (whose bargain $4.2 million annual salary suggests uncertainties about how well his bat will translate to the majors).
And even if the Dodgers make another addition before the start of the season (a reunion with free agent Kiké Hernández, for example, seems more feasible than it did before Lux’s departure), any offensive gains the Dodgers make this year will likely have to come from the aggregate.
It’s a situation, however, the team is comfortable being in. For years, both their words and actions have emphasized the value they place on versatile players and optionality with their roster. And by dealing Lux, they’ve given themselves exactly that, making their 2025 team lineup more fluid, adaptable and interchangeable than it had looked before.
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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounded off on the frenzied reactions to the U.S. men’s hockey team getting invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.
Trump talked to the Olympic gold medal-winning team immediately after they defeated Canada in overtime last weekend. He said they would be invited to his State of the Union address and added that he needed to invite the women’s team as well or he would be “impeached.”
Charles Barkley sits courtside against the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Trump critics took the joke as a shot at the women’s team, which sparked questions from NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League reporters as the players returned to their respective club teams.
“I’m proud of the United States men. I’m proud of the United States women. You should have invited both of them to the White House, but it shouldn’t have been disrespect, misogyny,” Barkley said on the “Steam Room” podcast. “Like, yo, man, why do y’all have to mess everything up? Everything isn’t Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it man. Because, you know, the public, they’re idiots. They’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools.”
Barkley lamented that the average person would get riled up over the supposed controversy.
The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
“We don’t have to fall for stupidity. But we do – that’s my point. These people out here are stupid. They need something to trigger them. Just because they want us to be stupid. We don’t have to be stupid. He should have invited both teams to the White House. Simple as that. Guys who didn’t want to go shouldn’t have to explain why they didn’t go.”
The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star made clear he would go to the White House regardless of whether Trump was in office.
“I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office,” Barkley said. “He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.
Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada on Day 13 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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“I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity.”
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Three years ago, as a 14-year-old freshman, Slava Shahbazyan made it to Bakersfield for the state wrestling championships.
“It was good to get experience that young,” he said.
Then came Saturday night when he had a breakthrough moment, winning the state 165-pound championship as a 17-year-old senior for Birmingham High.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “It took four years.”
Shahbazyan, who transferred from Chaminade after his sophomore year, is set to attend Stanford and still in the hunt to be valedictorian at Birmingham. Coach Jimmy Medeiros said he was close to winning last season before finishing fourth.
“He got a lot better,” Medeiros said.
Shahbazyan has been wrestling since he was 8. “My father loves wrestling,” he said.
Two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at 144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds, also won state titles.
Here’s the link to complete results.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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