Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay Rays
After being in the market for a second baseman all offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers have traded for Logan Forsythe.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in win-now mode, and by not making a serious effort to re-sign Chase Utley they’ve had a notable void to fill at second base all offseason. Most of the trade rumors with the Dodgers have centered on Brian Dozier and the Minnesota Twins, but talks have gone stagnant lately and it’s unclear when or if they would ever ramp back up.
Back in November, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported the Dodgers had interest in Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe. Monday afternoon Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported the Dodgers were “deep in discussions” to acquire Forsythe, and now the deal has been made official.
#Rays announce trade, Forsythe straight up for DeLeon
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) January 24, 2017
Going to Tampa Bay in the deal is top pitching prospect Jose De Leon, who made his major league debut last season and posted a 6.35 ERA over four starts (17 innings). De Leon was prominently mentioned in the trade talks between the Dodgers and Twins involving Dozier, but Minnesota’s new front office regime seemed to be holding out for at least one more young player from Los Angeles. All indications are the Dodgers balked at that notion, and the Rays apparently did not drive the same bargain in trade discussions.
After a breakout 2015 campaign (.281, 17 home runs and 68 RBI), Forsythe had a solid follow-up last year (.264, 20 home runs and 52 RBI). He has mostly played second base over the last two seasons, but Forsythe has experience at third base (56 career games) and first base (27 career games) most prominently, with some time at shortstop and the corner outfield spots as well during his major league career.
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Forsythe is essentially the same age as Dozier, as he just turned 30 and Dozier will do so in May. They both have similarly affordable contracts over the next couple seasons too, almost to the dollar. But the Dodgers were clearly only willing to part with De Leon in a trade for a second baseman, and the Rays couldn’t turn down the chance to add another cost-controlled young pitcher to their organization.