Will Dodgers pick a closer, center fielder? Five spring-training story lines to watch

Dodgers infielder Gavin Lux fields a grounder and throws to first base for an out Aug. 14 at Kansas City.

(Reed Hoffmann / Associated Press)

The Dodgers believe they can get plenty of offensive production from their likely new double-play pairing of shortstop Gavin Lux and second baseman Miguel Vargas.

How those two perform defensively, however, is harder to predict.

Shortstop is Lux’s natural position, and he handled the role for a stretch in 2021 while Corey Seager was injured. The fifth-year big leaguer graded out decently at second base last year.

Despite that, though, Lux also has a track record of occasionally shaky defensive stretches and will be moving to shortstop in the first year of Major League Baseball’s new rules banning shifts — putting a heightened importance on his already premium position.

Vargas is even less proven in the field. The rookie made only 28 appearances at second base in the minor leagues, where he was mostly a third baseman whose defense was seen as his biggest weakness by talent evaluators. And though he has natural athleticism and range, the shift ban could make it harder to compensate for his potential growing pains with the glove.

If either struggle, the Dodgers’ alternatives up the middle are limited.

Miguel Rojas is a dependable infielder capable of playing either role but has struggled at the plate in recent seasons and is coming off two offseason surgeries to his right hand and wrist. Taylor also has defensive versatility but will likely be needed in the outfield.

The only other member of the 40-man roster with MLB experience at either middle infield spot is Yonny Hernández, a 24-year-old with his fourth organization in the last calendar year. Michael Busch is the club’s next-best infield prospect but has defensive question marks of his own after switching from first to second base a few years back.