The Dodgers finally got their second baseman:
Today, the #Dodgers acquired infielder Logan Forsythe from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RHP José De León.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 24, 2017
Reportedly engaged in talks with the Twins about Brian Dozier for what seemed like months (actually, it kinda was), the Dodgers apparently finally decided to take the Twins’ hint about not accepting a packaged with pitching prospect Jose De Leon as the sole significant piece, and instead sent him to the Rays for a back-up second base option.
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In Forsythe, the Dodgers get a versatile infielder who has hit well against lefties in his career (something they’ve seriously needed), but who just turned 30 and only in 2015 put together his first solid big league season. He followed that up by hitting .264/.333/.444 (113 wRC+) last year, and was worth 2.8 WAR in just 127 games. He’ll make $5.8 million this year, and comes with a team option for 2018 at $8.5 million.
Dodgers President Andrew Friedman, you’ll note, was likely familiar with Forsythe, having acquired him as part of a seven-player trade when he was running the Rays a few years ago.
The addition makes the Dodgers better in 2017, to be sure, but you have to wonder about the hit to their stellar pitching depth.
That hit comes in the form of losing one of the best pitching prospects in the game, albeit one with some injury questions, and no proven big league success just yet. It’s still a very nice get for the Rays, even if my word of caution in these situations is that the team trading a guy away often knows him best.
All in all, it’s not Dozier, but the Dodgers became just a touch more competitive in the near-term, which could have obvious implications for the Cubs (be it in a Wild Card race or in the postseason). The Dodgers will likely have a slightly better projected record than the Cubs when the season starts, which may rattle some cages.
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