Although the Los Angeles Dodgers don’t have many holes in their active roster, there has been one demon that has already reared its ugly head during 2024 Cactus League play.
The big news coming out of camp this week is skipper Dave Roberts announcing that Mookie Betts has moved to shortstop with Gavin Lux shifting back to second base. While Roberts deemed the move permanent, it’s just too early in the season to guess how the infield will eventually pan out.
We’ve been talking for a while about the potential defensive perils around the Los Angeles infield. Betts definitely has the skills and talent to become a decent shortstop on a rapid learning curve, but there could be a bit of ugliness on the diamond until he does.
Freddie Freeman is no doubt the infield’s foundation, but the remainder of the positions have their fair share of gray areas. If Lux does indeed start at second base, it creates two potential vulnerabilities with Max Muncy at third base — three if you count the time that it takes Betts to settle himself in at shortstop.
We’ve already discussed veteran Miguel Rojas moving back into the starting lineup, but his .236/.290/.322 slash line doesn’t even come close to what Lux can produce. Chris Taylor is an infield possibility, as is Enrique Hernandez. However, Hernandez’s 14 errors over 64 games were one of the primary reasons why the Boston Red Sox gave up on him as their everyday shortstop in 2023.
In addition, another name we could see on the Los Angeles infield in 2024 is righty hitter Andre Lipcius. The Dodgers acquired the 25-year-old Maryland native from the Tigers last week for cash considerations. The 6-foot, 190-pound utility infielder took Clayton Kershaw’s spot on the 40-man roster when the veteran lefty was transitioned to the 60-day injured list.
Lipcius was a nuclear engineering major at the University of Tennessee, so it’s probably safe to say that he’s reasonably intelligent. Scouts like him for his patience at the plate, his ability to get on base and his bat-to-ball skills. While it’s tough to say exactly where Lipcius fits into the Dodgers’ long-term picture, a good general assessment could be that his defense might be an upgrade over Lux but not as solid as Rojas.
Similarly, his offense could be an upgrade over Rojas but not as threatening as Lux. As a righty hitter, his skill set almost lines up with Hernandez, aside from being seven years younger.
Lipcius’s MLB experience so far consists of 38 plate appearances over 13 games with the Tigers in 2023 with a .286/.342/.400 slash line. Defensively, he has seen time at all four infield positions.
Lipcius proved that he could be a double-digit HR contributor as a utility guy with enough plate appearances. Over the past three years, he has made 1487 minor league PA with a minimal 17.9% strikeout rate. He hit 36 home runs in that time with 88 doubles and a .775 OPS.
Although Lipcius will almost certainly start the year in the hitter-friendly confines of the Pacific Coast League at Oklahoma City, there’s a good chance he’ll make his Dodger debut at some point in 2024.