The Los Angeles Dodgers have been searching for a second baseman. They found one via trade in Logan Forsythe.
It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers have been searching for a second baseman all offseason. They had extensive talks with the Twins about Brian Dozier, but when the Twins demanded more than they were willing to give up they turned elsewhere. As was written here recently, they had some interesting choices remaining at the time. One of those options was Logan Forsythe of the Tampa Bay Rays. According to multiple reports, the Rays have traded Forsythe to the Dodgers for Jose De Leon.
#Rays announce trade, Forsythe straight up for DeLeon
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) January 24, 2017
Jose De Leon is the Dodgers number 3 prospect according to Baseball Prospectus. Other websites, like MLB.com’s Pipeline, rank him number 2 and the best pitching prospect in the system. The bottom line is that De Leon is a good pitching prospect that is nearly major league ready.
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He made his Major League debut in 2016, in which he did show some struggles. Armed with a good fastball and adequate off-speed pitches that he can locate in the zone, he’s a sure-thing starter. Where he peaks in the rotation (2nd starter vs. 4th or 5th) is yet to be seen. There has been some concern that his reliance on high fastballs will lead to a homer-prone career. In that case, he would likely only become an up and down bottom of the rotation pitcher.
There is, however, hope for the Rays with De Leon. He has the stuff and he can put it where he wants with relative ease. Those types of skills don’t come around often. It’s a great get and another addition to their farm system that is surprisingly deep in terms of pitching. The Rays do lose a good talent in Logan Forsythe.
Forsythe had an above average season in 2016, slashing .264/.333/.444 in 567 plate appearances. He hit 20 home runs, posted a .180 ISO, and proved to be above average with a 113 wRC+. His defensive stats disagree with each other about whether or not he was good at second base last season. He doesn’t, however, appear to be overly detrimental to defensive success. He had 2.8 fWAR/3.4 bWAR/1.8 WARP season in 2016.
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In Forsythe, the Dodgers get what they’ve wanted since the end of last season: a right-handed second basemen. In exchange, the Rays got a good pitching prospect that could easily make his way into their rotation during 2017. Perhaps it’s boring to say, but this trade is pretty fair to both sides. Each side had to part with something that they would have preferred to hold onto, but each side also gained a valuable asset in a position they were looking for. This move solidifies the fact that the Dodgers are pushing to win in the very near future, following the signings of Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen, and Rich Hill. For the Rays, this may just be step one in a long road to rebuilding and/or retooling their current team.