After playing with vets Freddie Freeman, Clayton Kershaw, ex-Dodgers star opens up on taking leadership role with Reds

Having made his big league debut in September 2019, Gavin Lux enjoyed plenty of success with the Los Angeles Dodgers before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds this past offseason.

As he was developing as a young player, Lux had some excellent role models in his own clubhouse, such as Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw. Now, at 27 in a relatively young and inexperienced Reds team, Lux is starting to become more of a leader figure.

On Wednesday's episode of "On Base," Lux told former teammate Mookie Betts how he's enjoyed transitioning into a mentor for other players in Cincinnati.

"I've enjoyed it. You know, we do have a lot of good players, we're just young. It feels like everyone wants to learn, do the right things, and play winning baseball, which has been great. I've enjoyed having a little bit of a voice in these meetings, just trying to help."

"I'm not a superstar by any means, but I think a lot of the stuff I've been through in my career, you know, injuries, I've struggled, I've done well, kind of everything in between, I can help be an open book for a of these young guys who haven't experienced a lot of these things yet," Lux said [35:14]

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Gavin Lux compares similarities between Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts and Reds manager Terry Francona

In the same conversation with Mookie Betts, Gavin Lux went on to talk about how he felt that Reds Manager Terry Francona is similar to Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts.

"He (Terry Francona) is great. Kind of similar to Doc (Dave Roberts), where you feel like he genuinely cares, he wants everyone to do good," Lux said (7:21). "You almost feel like you're playing for your uncle, at the same time he demands that you to play hard. If you don't run out groundballs, or flyballs, or play hard, he's going to let you know."

"You feel that genuine love and he wants you to succeed, and he's also one of the guys. He's born for the clubhouse. He's special, man, I've really enjoyed playing for him."

Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants - Source: Getty

At the moment, Terry Francona, Gavin Lux and the Cincinnati Reds are hard at work trying to clinch a place for the playoffs via the wildcard. With a 68-66 record, they currently sit 4.5 games out of the top three.