The Los Angeles Dodgers officially acquired second baseman Brian Dozier from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Logan Forsythe and prospects Luke Raley and Devin Smeltzer ahead of the non-waiver trade deadline.
The move was a bit of a surprising one as the Dodgers’ biggest need at the deadline was pitching. Although, they have been weak at second base this year largely due to Forsythe’s struggles and Chase Utley being reduced to a pinch-hitter role.
Dozier was in the midst of a down year with the Twins, hitting just .224/.305/.402, but he has hit 16 home runs in addition to scoring 65 runs, driving in 52 and also stealing eight bases.
He is set to become a free agent at the end of this season, and while the Dodgers will pay the remainder of his salary, they are actually saving money in regards to the luxury tax by unloading Forsythe’s expiring contract.
Forsythe played well for the Dodgers in the 2017 postseason, which led to the team exercising their option on his contract for 2018. But Forsythe hit just .207/.270/.290 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 70 games, so the Dodgers are getting an upgrade offensively with Dozier.
Ironically enough, the Dodgers were linked to Dozier before the 2017, but the Twins were not interested in solely acquiring Jose De Leon, or a package he headlined. So, Los Angeles wound up trading De Leon to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Forsythe.
Raley was a seventh-round pick of the Dodgers in 2016 and was ranked as the organization’s 19th-best prospect according to MLB.com. In 93 games with Double-A Tulsa this season, he batted .275/.345/.477 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI.
Smelzter was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the same year, and has pitched in 23 games (14 starts) with Tulsa this season, posting a 4.73 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.
The 22-year-old southpaw won over the hearts of fans during Spring Training when he was involved in a feature on SportsNet LA’s ‘Backstage: Dodgers’ in which he reconnected with Chase Utley for the first time since he was a 10-year-old dealing with cancer and he met Utley at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
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