The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Rumors involving Lux, May old hat
DENVER » A wise-to-theworld man of 24 now, Gavin Lux points to the front of his hoodie when asked about hearing his name bandied about in trade speculation.
“All Part of It” is written across the front of his sweatshirt.
As a 20-year-old in Classa four years ago, Lux hadn’t learned that yet.
“I feel like you never know for sure and at the end of the day it’s a business so you never know,” Lux said. “But, yeah, when I was maybe a 20-year-old hearing it I was maybe a little more panicked. Now it’s just kind of I’m used to it and I can’t control any of it anyways.”
Dustin May was making his way from Class-a to Double-a during the summer of 2018 as well. His name figured prominently in trade talks as the Dodgers worked to land Manny Machado. The Baltimore Orioles had targeted May as part of the return for Machado but were rebuffed by the Dodgers, who sent five minor leaguers not named May or Lux to Baltimore instead.
“The last couple years I haven’t thought about it very much,” May said of being mentioned in trade rumors. “The Machado stuff I definitely thought about. That year, I heard a lot about it. But after that, I’ve put zero thought into me leaving or anything like that. If it happens, it happens. I personally don’t see it. But that’s out of my control.
“The Machado stuff I definitely thought I was leaving. I don’t want to put that kind of thought into my mind anymore.”
May has other things to focus on these days as he reaches the final stages in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Nonetheless, both May and Lux are involved in trade speculation once again. The availability of outfielder Juan Soto (or maybe Shohei Ohtani) has experts and non-experts alike putting together packages of players they think might entice the Washington Nationals (or Angels).
Young, low-cost players like May and Lux figure prominently in many of these proposed scenarios.
“I feel like at this point I’ve been in every talk since 2018 when I was in High-a. I don’t feel it’s any different now,” Lux said. “I’m still trying to be where my feet are, be productive every day and whatever is going to happen is going to happen.”
Martin arrives
Acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, reliever Chris Martin joined the Dodgers at Coors Field on Sunday and was officially added to the roster. Right-hander Jake Reed was optioned to Triple-a.
The 36-year-old Martin said he spoke with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior about what their expectations are for him.
“I think it’s gonna be a good fit because with the Cubs I was kind of all over the map. And I think that’s kind of what’s gonna go on here,” Martin said. “I kind of got acclimated with that with the Cubs, moving around in different situations and different innings, which is something that we were doing over there. So I should fit right in.”
Turner update
Roberts said Sunday that Justin Turner had undergone “imaging” on the abdominal injury that has sidelined him for nine of the past 10 games. The MRI showed no structural damage but Roberts said Turner is not likely to play before Thursday in San Francisco.
Today he’s supposed to be in the weight room moving around. Tomorrow he’ll do some baseball activities, playing catch, running. I’m not sure about the swinging of the bat,” Roberts said.
The injury has not gotten any worse since Turner played on Wednesday, he said.
“No. It’s holding,” Roberts said. “But there’s still some sensation. Where he’s at, we don’t need to push it. If we can kick the can and carry him on the roster at no cost, I see no down side.”
If Turner doesn’t play until Thursday, the Dodgers will have played shorthanded for all but one game in a two-week stretch — a cost. But Roberts was referring to the lack of ready options on the 40-man roster. The potential need for roster flexibility at the trade deadline is also a factor.
Also
Reliever Blake Treinen is scheduled to join the Dodgers in San Francisco and throw in another simulatedgame setting on Wednesday. Treinen has been out since April with a shoulder injury.