A trade involving the Rays, Reds and Angels is sending Gavin Lux to Tampa Bay. Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images
A three-team trade involving the Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels is sending outfielder Josh Lowe to the Angels and infielder Gavin Lux and a minor-league pitcher to the Rays, with the Reds receiving left-handed reliever Brock Burke in return, major-league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The deal was first reported by ESPN.
The Reds signed right-handed reliever Pierce Johnson on Thursday and then added Burke to finish off the team’s rebuilding of the bullpen. The Reds also signed left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson and re-signed closer Emilio Pagán.
The bullpen was the first priority for Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall, and that now seems complete. The Reds also traded reliever Yosver Zulueta, designated for assignment earlier in the day to make room for Johnson on the team’s 40-man roster, to the Seattle Mariners for a minor-league pitcher.
Acquired in a trade from the Dodgers last offseason, Lux hit just five home runs in 503 plate appearances. While Lux played in left field and at second base, by the end of the season, he was serving mostly as a platoon DH. Despite playing at home-run-friendly Great American Ball Park, the Reds finished 21st in the majors in home runs. The Reds pursued DH Kyle Schwarber in free agency, but the Middletown, Ohio, native returned to the Philadelphia Phillies. Moving Lux and his $5.525 million salary could be a precursor to another move to upgrade the team’s offense.
Lowe, 27, hit 20 home runs in a breakthrough 2023 but has hit just 21 home runs combined over the last two seasons. He was the odd man out in Tampa Bay after the team signed Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley. Fraley, like Lowe, is a left-handed hitter.
The Angels sent right-hander Chris Clark, a 2023 fifth-round pick out of Harvard, to the Rays as part of the deal.