Reds acquire Gavin Lux

17:04: Los Angeles gets outfield prospect Mike Sirota and a draft, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Cincinnati’s competitive balance pick — the only pick that can be traded — lands at No. 37 overall.

16:59: The clubs agree on a deal that sends Lux to Cincinnati. confirms Fabian Ardaya from Athletic.

4:56 p.m.: The Reds are closing in on a deal for a second baseman Gavin Lux from the Dodgers, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Los Angeles general manager Brandon Gomes had downplayed the possibility of trading Lux late last week, but it appears the Dodgers intend to play free agent pickup Hyesung Kim on second base.

Lux enters his age 27 season. The left-handed hitting infielder was a first-round pick in 2016 and had emerged as one of the top prospects in baseball when he was promoted at the end of the ’19 season. Lux has been a solid big leaguer, but not the kind of star many evaluators had hoped for.

The Dodgers didn’t give Lux consistent big league runs until 2021. He struggled offensively that season, hitting .242/.328/.364 through 102 games. His bat took a step forward the following year as he hit .276/.346/.399 through 471 trips to the plate. Lux looked like the starting shortstop entering 2023, but he tore his right ACL during spring training and ended up missing the entire season.

Lux returned from injury last year. He was healthy in Spring Training and expected to start at shortstop. A series of throwing errors during exhibition games called that into question. By the middle of Spring Training, Los Angeles announced that Lux would slide back to second base, while Mookie Betts tried out at shortstop. Lux had started his professional career but also encountered problems with throwing accuracy in the minors.

More to come.