In the end the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Logan Forsythe, not Brian Dozier, to fill their need at second base. Forsythe is also an answer for the Dodgers as a leadoff hitter, and he was acquired in a one-for-one swap with Jose De Leon heading to Tampa Bay.
Although the Dodgers were most prominently connected to Dozier throughout much of the past two months, the Minnesota Twins sought more than De Leon in return for the All-Star second baseman. Beyond Forsythe’s on-field production, he comes with a strong reputation as a teammate.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who acquired Forsythe for the Rays in January 2014 as part of a seven-player trade, specifically mentioned his mentality and style of play when discussing this week’s trade.
Yasmani Grandal, Forsythe’s former teammate for two seasons with the San Diego Padres, also raved about reuniting with the 30-year-old, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“I love him. He hustles, goes 100 percent each day — that’s what I like about him the most. In San Diego, we had a young team, we were just trying to figure out who we were. But you knew who he was — no matter how good he was doing or how bad he was doing, he’s going to hustle 100 percent. Having him back on my team, it’s energizing.”
Corey Seager faced Forsythe during last season’s Interleague series between the Dodgers and Rays, and voiced a similar sentiment as Grandal:
“I played against him last year and he’s hard-nosed, blue collar, wasn’t flashy but just got the job done,” said Seager. “Hopefully he’ll fit in nice. We needed to fill second base and get a right-handed bat, and he fills both those needs.”
Shortly after the Dodgers and Rays announced their trade, Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria expressed his dissatisfaction with the deal. Just as Friedman, Grandal and Seager did, Longoria highlighted Forsythe’s approach to the game.
The versatile infielder is under contract through 2018, though the final year on his contract is an $9 million team option that includes a $1 million buyout. Forsythe’s option was previously $8.5 million, but its valued increased by virtue of him logging a minimum of 550 plate appearances last season.
Forsythe can earn an additional $500,000 each for 550 and 600 plate appearances in 2017, and another $500,000 should he make a combined 1,200 plate appearances from 2016-17.
