The Los Angeles Dodgers found a trade partner in the Tampa Bay Rays to end their search for a second baseman by acquiring Logan Forsythe in exchange for Jose De Leon. The deal proved more palpable to the Dodgers than sending multiple prospects to the Minnesota Twins for Brian Dozier.
While final judgment of the trade may not be known for at least the next season or two, both teams appear to have benefitted. The Dodgers have their second baseman and likely leadoff hitter who can help the club pursue a World Series, while the Rays netted a young, team-controlled pitcher who should be in their rotation for many years to come.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who traded for Forsythe after the 2013 season when he was general manager of the Rays, raved about the 30-year-old infielder, specifically Forsythe’s mentality and style of play, and how it fits well with the Dodgers.
Similarly, Rays general manager Erik Neander explained his club felt they could not pass on the opportunity to acquire a pitcher of De Leon’s caliber, via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:
“The way we have him evaluated and his proximity to the big leagues, it was an opportunity we felt we couldn’t pass up as an organization,” Rays general manager Erik Neander said.
“Adding Jose where he’s at certainly deepens our starting pitching depth. That’s very important as we try to have success in 2017 and into the future.”
De Leon was selected by the Dodgers in the 24th round of the 2013 Draft. He was recently named the organization’s No. 3 prospect for the 2017 season by Baseball America. De Leon reached Triple-A for the first time in his career last season, and went on to make his MLB debut.
The right-hander overcame ankle and arm injuries early in the year to go 7-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 86.1 innings pitched over 16 starts for Oklahoma City. De Leon then went 2-0 in four starts with the Dodgers, but had a 6.35 ERA, 6.97 FIP, 1.53 WHIP and averaged nearly four walks per nine innings.
