LOS ANGELES — Among the more than 40,000 World Series championship rings the Dodgers handed out to visitors on Monday, one was the real thing.
On Mookie Betts ring give-away night, Gavin Lux received his official diamond-studded championship jewelry before the start of a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Lux’s Dodgers tenure ended when he was traded to the Reds in January for minor-league outfielder Mike Sirota and a competitive balance-round draft pick the club turned into Arkansas outfielder Charles Davalan.
The Dodgers already have seen Lux once this season, during a late July series in Cincinnati, but they wanted to honor their former player in front of the home fans, delaying his ring presentation until Monday.
Lux’s former teammates met him behind home plate in appreciation and gathered for a group photo. Before the game, the Dodgers played a video tribute to Lux and he received a warm reception from the fans.
He hopes those moments can be inspiring for his new club.
“That’s what we play for every day,” Lux said of his new ring. “I hope that we can do another one this year (with the Reds). It’s the carrot in front of your face.”
Returning from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2023 season, Lux batted .251 for the Dodgers last year with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs. He was particularly productive for a 20-game stretch into early August when he batted .400 with four home runs and 15 RBIs.
“When we were struggling last year after the break, he was the one that was kind of like carrying us, hitting in the three, the four hole, and really picked us up big time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He helped us win a championship. I’m always going to be grateful.”
Lux also played a key role in the ninth-inning rally during Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. The game went down in baseball history because of Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam, but it all started with a one-out walk to Lux with the Dodgers facing a 3-2 deficit. His game-tying sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of Game 5 helped them finish off the Yankees.
“It was just doing the little things that add up in the end and help our team win that year,” Lux said from the visitor’s clubhouse while wearing red instead of blue. “Whether it’s a sacrifice fly, or a walk, however you can contribute is big. It doesn’t matter how little or small. Looking back, I have some really fond memories of October and that was a fun clubhouse to be part of.”
OPTIONS IN LEFT FIELD
Kiké Hernandez was activated from the injured list after recovering from a left elbow injury, while Buddy Kennedy was designated for assignment.
Hernandez, who last played in a game for the Dodgers on July 5 before going on the IL, is expected to split time with Michael Conforto in left field for the remainder of the season and on into the playoffs, according to Roberts. He will not just be confined to left, though.
Hernandez said there was a point during his recovery, after receiving a third shot in the elbow to assist the rehab process, when he thought he might be done for the season.
“Luckily, the fourth one was the answer, and after the last shot I was pain-free like four days afterwards,” he said. “I almost cried in the morning because it was the first morning that I woke up pain-free. It was a couple days after that I started swinging. Two weeks ago, to be exact, on a Monday.”
Hernandez, who was not in the starting lineup Monday, is expected to start in left field on Tuesday and return to the lineup Wednesday in a position to be determined.
“You kind of look around the roster and you know where your spots are,” Hernandez said. “So hopefully I can mix in at first base here and there, give Freddie a little bit of rest. We can fight over it. Obviously part of my role is to move around. I don’t really care where I play, as long as I’m in there. So I’m here for it.”
Hernandez was batting just .195 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs in 71 games before he went on the IL. But the playoffs are where he shines brightest with a .278 batting average, .874 OPS and 15 home runs with 35 RBIs in 86 career postseason games.
ALSO
Left-hander Blake Snell is in line to return to the rotation on Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks after he and his wife celebrated the birth of their second child. … Third baseman Max Muncy, out with a right oblique strain, hit in the batting cage on Monday and will hit on the field on Tuesday, with a return possibly during next week’s road trip to Pittsburgh and Baltimore. … Right-hander Roki Sasaki (shoulder) is expected to have at least two more rehab starts before he is considered for a return to the roster.
UP NEXT
Reds (RHP Nick Martinez, 10-9, 4.59 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw, 8-2, 3.13 ERA), Tuesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM