Kenosha Indian Trail alumnus Gavin Lux found himself back in the MLB playoffs in 2025, celebrating with his Cincinnati Reds inside the visiting clubhouse of his home-state Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 28, after a loss by the New York Mets in Miami clinched the Reds’ spot.
And guess who’s waiting for him?
The Los Angeles Dodgers awarded Lux his 2024 World Series ring in August when the Reds visited, acknowledging a player who was traded to Cincinnati in the offseason.
Now, Lux will return to Dodger Stadium, looking to keep his old friends from winning another ring in the National League wild-card series that begins Sept. 30.
The Dodgers gave Gavin Lux his 2024 World Series ring before the start of tonight’s game pic.twitter.com/kCBReGwebS
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 26, 2025
“I’d be excited anywhere it was, but I think it’s cool that I get to go back there and hopefully knock them out,” Lux told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“I think you always play with that little chip on your shoulder … but at the end of the day, if it was Philly, if it was (Milwaukee), it doesn’t matter. Getting into the playoffs, you’re just trying to win every pitch, win every game and worry about the other (stuff) later.”
Lux spent six seasons in Los Angeles, and the franchise hasn’t missed the playoffs in his tenure. He’s played in 30 postseason games — most of anyone on the current Reds team — beginning Oct. 3, 2019, in the NLDS when he homered in his first Major League playoff plate appearance.
He homered again in last year’s NLDS against the San Diego Padres, and he doubled in the fourth game of the World Series against the New York Yankees, a series the Dodgers won, 4-1. Lux was also part of the 2020 World Series champion team.
But the organization that drafted Lux 20th overall in the 2016 draft right out of high school dealt him to the Reds in January for minor-leaguer Mike Sorta and a draft pick.
Lux, who turns 28 in November, had a .724 OPS with the Reds, splitting time between designated hitter and left field instead of second base, where he played in 138 games for the Dodgers last year.
Lux and the Reds will look to upset the Dodgers beginning at 8:08 p.m. CT Sept. 30, with games to follow Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 (if necessary) at the same time.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kenosha’s Gavin Lux back in MLB playoffs, facing team that traded him
