Star prospect Gavin Lux will not open season on Dodgers active roster

The Los Angeles Dodgers decided on Tuesday that second base prospect Gavin Lux will not open the shortened 2020 MLB season on their active roster. The Dodgers optioned him to their alternate site at USC, according to reporter Alden Gonzalez. Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor are the candidates to start at second base before Lux joins the big league squad.

Lux was delayed arriving at Dodgers camp due to unspecified reasons, and reporters are citing this as a reason for his demotion for the time-being. He will get called up at some point, but for the time being he’ll get time to potentially get further up to speed due to the missed time.

From a fantasy perspective, he could turn into a solid buy-low option. There’s a gamble not knowing when he’ll be called up, but if you’re prepared to roll the dice, he’s worth the investment even in a shortened season.

One upside to this for the Dodgers organization is that they likely will save a year of service time when they eventually do call him up. If he is not on the roster for potentially 51 or 53 of the team’s 66 days of the season, he does not earn a year toward free agency. The normal amount of time is longer, but it has been prorated for the shortened season.

The Dodgers could legitimately think Lux needs a little more time to get on track for the season. It could just be a coincidence that they also will save big bucks on the back end of this with Lux needing more time to get to arbitration and then free agency.