Rays trade Forsythe to Dodgers for De Leon
Los Angeles Dodgers president Andrew Friedman called up some old friends Monday, and finally came away with his right-handed hitting second baseman.
Los Angeles acquired second baseman Logan Forsythe from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for top pitching prospect Jose De Leon, the teams announced Monday.
The deal reunites Friedman and Forsythe some three-plus years after Friedman - then running the Rays - brought him to Tampa Bay in another trade.
"(Logan's) a grinder," Friedman told reporters, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. "He's a professional hitter. Can really handle left-handed pitching as well as right. Has some versatility. Is a good baserunner and we felt was the type of player we needed to be aggressive in going out and adding to our current group."
The one-for-one swap ends an offseason-long saga for the Dodgers, who have spent the winter in search of a right-handed power hitter to man the keystone spot. Besides Forsythe, who they were connected to earlier this winter, the Dodgers were also in pursuit of All-Star second basemen Brian Dozier and Ian Kinsler. Talks with the Detroit Tigers about Kinsler never seemed to get off the ground, while discussions about Dozier with the Minnesota Twins appeared to halt over Minnesota's insistence on a larger return than just De Leon.
Minnesota reportedly asked for two additional prospects along with De Leon in a Dozier trade, causing the Dodgers to back away and turn to Forsythe, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
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Forsythe, who will replace veteran Chase Utley at second base in Los Angeles, is a cheaper option than both Kinsler and Dozier financially. The 29-year-old will earn just $5.75 million in 2017, and can earn $8.5 million in 2018 via a club option.
Forsythe will undoubtedly help balance out a lefty-heavy Dodgers lineup that struggled against left-handed pitching in 2016. Collectively, Dodger hitters posted a meager .213/.290/.332 slash line, 72 OPS+, and 37 homers against southpaws last year, compared to .264/.331/.441, 112, and 152 versus righties.
PROJECTED DODGERS 2017 LINEUP
| Player | Pos. | Bats | 2016 OPS | 2016 HR | 2016 WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Forsythe | 2B | R | .778 | 20 | 2.8 |
| Corey Seager | SS | L | .877 | 26 | 7.5 |
| Justin Turner | 3B | R | .832 | 27 | 5.6 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 1B | L | .784 | 18 | 1.3 |
| Yasmani Grandal | C | B | .816 | 27 | 2.9 |
| Joc Pederson | CF | L | .847 | 25 | 3.6 |
| Yasiel Puig | RF | R | .740 | 11 | 1.0 |
| Andrew Toles | LF | L | .870 | 3 | 1.6 |
A native of Memphis, Tenn., Forsythe hit .264/.333/.444 with 20 home runs, 24 doubles, and 52 RBIs for the Rays last season. The six-year veteran previously spent three years with the San Diego Padres.
De Leon was ranked as the Dodgers' No. 2 prospect and the seventh-best right-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline. After a stellar 2016 season in Triple-A, he made his big-league debut with the Dodgers in September but was rocked to a 6.35 ERA and 1.529 WHIP in four starts; as a result, he did not make the team's postseason roster.
The Rays - who now have a potential opening in their rotation thanks to last week's trade of Drew Smyly - seem to think highly of the 24-year-old, and see him as someone who can help their staff immediately.
"De Leon is a talented starting pitching prospect who can soon become a key member of our major-league rotation," general manager Erik Neander said in a statement. "We are really excited to acquire someone we consider one of the top pitching prospects in baseball."
Neander added that the Rays will look for Forsythe's replacement at second internally, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.