The Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly considering changing established players defensive positions if they are able to sign Aaron Judge
The Los Angeles Dodgers might be willing to shuffle their defensive deck if it means the team could add free agent slugger Aaron Judge to their already formidable lineup.
"If you consider Mookie (Betts) to second, Gavin Lux to short...that is one of the possibilities the Dodgers are thinking about if Aaron Judge plays right field," Insider Jon Morosi said on MLB Network's "Hot Stove" program.
"If you consider Mookie to 2nd, Gavin Lux to short...that is one of the possibilities the Dodgers are thinking about if Aaron Judge plays right field." 👀
@jonmorosi with the latest on the likelihood the Dodgers pursue Aaron Judge in free agency. #MLBNHotStove https://t.co/S4iO0syHpW
If you consider Mookie to 2nd, Gavin Lux to short...that is one of the possibilities the Dodgers are thinking about if Aaron Judge plays right field. - Insider Jon Morosi on @MLBNetwork
Maybe not as crazy as it seems for Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has had a long habit of moving his players around the diamond defensively. Max Muncy switches between first base, third base, and second base with regularity. Free agent centerfielder Cody Bellinger, likely to sign elsewhere this offseason, was no stranger to playing first base during his Dodgers career.
Lux played 102 games at second base last season, his first full campaign as an established member of the Dodgers' lineup. However, the four-year MLB veteran also saw time at shortstop and in left field in 2022, after seeing his first regular big-league play as a shortstop the previous season.
While the thought of Mookie Betts shifting to the infield may raise some eyebrows, as the nine-year MLB veteran has won five Gold Gloves as a right fielder. Yet, the idea is not as outlandish as it may seem.
Betts has played primarily as a right fielder since leaving the Boston Red Sox and signing with the Dodgers prior to the 2020 season. However, the Red Sox did originally select Betts as the second baseman in the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft. He played seven games as a second sacker last season, including five starts at the position.
The 30-year-old Betts regularly takes up residence at second base during the Dodgers' batting practices. According to MLB Insider Mark Feinsand, Roberts has even spoken of the benefits of playing Betts at second base, citing it as a way to keep him healthier during the long season.
Judge worth a Dodgers defensive shuffle?
Judge making his way to Chavez Ravine would turn an already potent Los Angeles Dodgers lineup into a potential all-timer, even if it meant that current All-Star shortstop Trea Turner moved on to a different team.
Placing Judge, who broke the American League single-season home run record with 62 round-trippers as a New York Yankee in 2022, into the middle of the Dodgers lineup would give the team prodigious power. Betts led Los Angeles with 35 home runs last season, with no other Dodger hitting more than 24 round-trippers.
MLB Trade Rumors writer Steve Adams predicts that Judge will ink a contract within the range of eight years and $332 million.