Are the Rays trying to acquire another Sean Rodriguez?
Reserving judgement until all the details in a trade are known is important, but it appears the Rays are shipping out Alex Torres -- a formal top prospect who fell out of grace as a starter in 2012 and re-emerged last season as a high leverage arm in the bullpen -- for Logan Forsythe.
Forsythe was a 2008 supplemental round draft pick that has three years of service in the majors. He will begin his first of three arbitration years in 2015, so he would only require the league minimum next season.
So who is he?
A 6'1" and 195 lbs bench player, he's right handed, he can play each position of the infield and some corner outfield, he doesn't have show-stopping speed but his defense is highly regarded, a steady approach to fastballs and patient with breaking balls (though he whiffs on them often), in general pitchers will throw low and away, .287 career in-play batting average that is not consistent year to year, league average walk rate, slightly worse than average strike out rate, projected wRC+ in the 90's.
Holy crap, that's Sean Rodriguez.
Differences? Sean is one inch shorter, five pounds heavier, and has two years less of control.
Heck, they even have the same damn swing.
There is one other large difference, however, and that is injuries. So much so, that I would suspect this trade will hinge on a physical by the Rays staff.
Forsythe struggled last season through plantaar fascitis in his right foot, had a sore right knee he played through in 2012, and had left foot surgery shortly before that. In the minors, he also had a surgery to repair his meniscus.
Logan's injuries did not make for a stellar 2013, especially in comparison to Rodriguez:
| 2013 | wOBA vLHP | wRC+ vLHP | wOBA vRHP | wRC+ vRHP | SB | BB% | K% |
| Logan Forsythe | .283 | 81 | .266 | 69 | 6 | 7.8% | 22.2% |
| Sean Rodriguez | .328 | 111 | .253 | 59 | 1 | 7.7% | 26.6% |
... but taking Forsythe's three year career and comparing to Rodriguez's six years of intermittent play, we have a more charming comp:
| Career | wOBA vLHP | wRC+ vLHP | wOBA vRHP | wRC+ vRHP | SB | BB% | K% |
| Logan Forsythe | .347 | 124 | .265 | 69 | 17 | 7.7% | 18.9% |
| Sean Rodriguez | .334 | 113 | .268 | 67 | 33 | 7.5% | 23.8% |
Forsythe's an injury risk, but that might have also masked some great performance. You could fall on the sunny side with this caveat, but the injuries cast a big shadow on this trade. He doesn't have the speed we thought the Rays might be coveting for the 25th man position, but reincarnating Rodriguez on the roster now is not a poor idea when the Rays can deal from a position of depth (left handed relief pitching).
It's clear the Rays are not done yet with their roster. The Rays still have a jam at catcher, with third catcher Jose Lobaton still hanging around.
The departure of Torres would make room for Pedro Figueroa on the roster (out of options), but the bench still needs to clear room. Sean Rodriguez is a projected to remain on the Rays bench, though with one option remaining, while Jose Molina, Jose Lobaton, and Brandon Guyer cannot be sent to the minors.
With the duplication of Rodriguez and Forsythe on the roster, maybe the Marlins can finally nab their man in Rodriguez through a separate trade. In the mean time, we have more news to sift through.
The Rays will be adding prospects, will need to drop Lobaton into someone else's roster, and now might be trading Rodriguez. Reserve judgement until the end, just because news about Forsythe broke first doesn't mean it was the first in a series of moves the front office might be planning.
