The Dodgers have finally found their second baseman for the 2017 season.
Surprise, it's not Brian Dozier.
The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired second baseman Logan Forsythe from the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday afternoon in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Jose De León.
The Dodgers have had a large void at second base after Chase Utley became a free agent and the team traded away Howie Kendrick to the Philadelphia Phillies.
During the busy offseason, L.A. looked like they were on the cusp of trading for Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, but reportedly, the Twins asking price was too high, and the trade talks stalled out a couple weeks ago.
Over the weekend, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman found a new trading partner in his old team, the Tampa Bay Rays. Friedman famously traded for Forsythe via a seven-player deal in 2014.
Forsythe batted .264 with 52 RBI, 20 home runs, four triples and 76 runs scored last season as the Rays leadoff hitter. The 30-year-old University of Arkansas product was drafted in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres.
Over the span of six Major League seasons, Forsythe has a career .255 batting average with 55 homers, and 203 RBI. More importantly however, he can hit left-handed pitching, an Achilles heel of the Dodgers in 2016.
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Forsythe led the Rays in batting average (.281), on-base percentage (.359) and slugging percentage (.444) against left-handed pitching and his slugging percentage (.599) ranked third in the American League in 2015.
In exchange for Forsythe, the Dodgers begrudgingly had to part ways with the No. 3 prospect (Baseball America) in their farm system. De León was dominant with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers last season, going 7-1, while posting a 2.61 ERA in 16 starts.
The 24-year-old Puerto Rican native was selected in the 24th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Dodgers and made his Major League debut at Dodger stadium last September. In four starts at the big-league level, De Leon went 2-0 with a 6.35 ERA.
Forsythe is expected to bat leadoff in front of reigning 2016 National League Rookie of the Year winner Corey Seager in the Dodgers 2017 starting lineup.
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
