Forsythe fits in perfectly with the Rays' penchant for flexible utility players and should compete for playing time against left-handers.
The San Diego Padres have agreed to trade infielder Logan Forsythe to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Alex Torres, reports Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. The teams will also swap additional prospects.
Forsythe had been receiving interest from several teams recently, but it was Tampa Bay who offered what the Padres wanted. The 27-year-old's greatest asset is the fact that he can competently play all around the infield along with a little corner outfield. He certainly didn't get traded for his bat: Forsythe hit .214/.281/.332 over 75 games in 2013 and has a career 659 OPS.
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There is room for improvement, however. Over his minor league career, Forsythe was an on-base machine with a .416 OBP. Furthermore, Forsythe has been much better against left-handers over his career with a 793 OPS compared to just a 594 OPS against righties. Considering he likely was not acquired to be a starter, it's possible nearly all of Forsythe's playing time could come against southpaws
The Rays love to have players that provide roster flexibility, and Forsythe brings just that. He is also still a pre-arbitration player and is under team control four more seasons. He will likely have to compete with players like Sean Rodriguez and Jayson Nix for a roster spot, but injuries to Hak-Ju Lee and Tim Beckham have weakened the Rays' middle infield.The Padres have a number of other players who can fill the utility role, tops among them Alexi Amarista. That made Forsythe expendable.
The Padres may have done very well for themselves in the return for Forsythe. Torres, 26, is coming off a wonderful season out of the Rays' bullpen. He tossed 58 innings over 39 games and posted a 1.71 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with 62 strikeouts. He initially came up as a starter but control issues and a loaded Tampa Bay rotation forced a move to the pen. It's possible that the Padres could try to stretch him out again, otherwise he has the look of a top reliever.
There have been no reports on who the additional prospects in the deal will be. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports a total of five players are involved in the deal.
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