The Tampa Bay Rays completed a 1-to-1 trade Monday afternoon, sending INF Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers for RHP Jose De Leon. (Photo Credit: Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)
The Tampa Bay Rays completed a 1-to-1 trade Monday afternoon, sending INF Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers for RHP Jose De Leon. (Photo Credit: Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), the Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to trade Logan Forsythe to the Los Angeles Dodgers for top pitching prospect Jose De León. The team later confirmed the deal.

In a statement following the trade, Rays GM Erik Neander called the move bittersweet, while also noting the club’s excitement to add De León:

We are very excited to add Jose De León to the Rays organization. He’s a talented starting pitching prospect who can soon become a key member of our major league rotation. It’s a bittersweet day, though, as we part ways with Logan Forsythe in this trade. He’s not only a first-class player, but he’s also a great teammate and leader in the clubhouse. We will miss him, and we thank him for all he did as a Ray.

After ranking as a top-thirty prospect leaguewide entering the 2016 season, De León battled through some injuries to earn his big league debut. Though he wasn’t terribly impressive in four MLB outings, amassing 17 innings of 6.35 ERA/6.97 FIP ball, De Leon tore through Triple-A over with 86-1/3 innings, posting a 2.61 ERA and 3.24 FIP, with an 11.57 K/9 and a 2.08 BB/9.

Trading Forsythe could hurt the 2017 team, especially against left handed hurlers, however, Neander, is confident they have internal options to take over at second, including Nick Franklin, Tim Beckham and Daniel Robertson. They could also shift Brad Miller to second base and look externally for a first baseman. If I may, neither Franklin nor Beckham appear to be the heir apparent to Forsythe. Franklin might be best served in the utility role, and did play well when he was able to get on the field last season, slashing .270 BA/.328 OBP/.443 SLG/.771 OPS with six home runs in 60 games.

As for Beckham, this may be his final opportunity to prove he is a viable Major League option. To say he has been a disappointment is an understatement to say the least. He still makes far too many mental (and base running) gaffes — some of  which led to his banishment to Triple-A at the end of last season.

Robertson owned a 110 wRC+ over 511 plate appearances last season with Triple-A Durham, posting an impressive 11.4% walk rate, and a 19.6% strikeout rate. Through the first 82 games of the season, the infielder was staked with a lackluster .648 OPS and just 16 extra base hits through 348 plate appearances. Yet he finished the year with an .860 OPS and 13 extra base hits over 36 games (163 PA).

A question whether Willy Adames could make the transition to second remains. Whatever the case, the Rays will use the next few weeks leading up to Spring Training to clarify the second base options.

Noteworthiness

— I won’t be the only one who misses Forsythe at the top of the order:

— With a roster space open, the Rays made official the one-year, $1-Million deal (plus up to $1.15-Million in incentives) with RHP Shawn Tolleson. Topkin listed the incentives in his latest piece for the Heater blog:

35 games: $50,000
40: $75,000
45: $75,000
50: $100,000
55: $150,000
60: $200,000
65: $250,000
70: $250,000

I wrote about the pending deal last week.

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