Article: Deadline Deal: Twins Trade Brian Dozier to Dodgers

[bighat]

 

So much for getting a look at Gordon at 2nd.

Forsythe coming here makes little sense.

 

Good luck Brian. I hope you make it big time.

 

Yeah, that's the downside. I was hoping that moving Dozier meant that Gordon would be given a shot...at least give us a reason to watch the last couple months.

 

Forsythe's 2018 stats:

 

.207

2 HR

13 RBI

 

Wow, he fell off a cliff.

[slash129]

 

So much for getting a look at Gordon at 2nd.

Forsythe coming here makes little sense.

 

IMO, Forsythe coming probably benefits Gordon.   NG needs to focus on finishing the AAA season on a high note.  If someone's struggling to swim in the deep end, you don't pull them out, fit them with a 40# weight vest, and then throw them back in.  It isn't going to look any better.

[Monkeypaws]

Liked Dozier, but just looking at the HR numbers you can see the peak is in the rear view mirror at 31.

 

6, 18, 23, 28, 42, 34, 16+

 

 

He never really became that complete hitter - he had a great hit up the middle last night, but those efforts were just too few and far between.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Luke Raley is the Dodgers #19 prospect

1B/OF who has pretty solid numbers at AA this year. 17 HR's, .822 OPS,

Solid for AA performance, but not much for projecting a MLB future. Below average BB%, above average K%. 119 wRC+ per Fangraphs, and he's almost 24 in AA (admittedly a college draftee).

[bluechipper]

 

Any chance the Twins just dump Forsythe after the trade, similar to what the Rangers did with Austin Jackson?

I hope that is the case. I'd rather see Gregorio Petit than Forsythe.

[twins_89]

Based on the trade return, I really wonder if the Twins overplayed their hand in Dozier trade talks. If the rumored Brewers interest was real I have a hard time believing we couldn't have gotten a better deal from them (before they traded for Moustakas). Milwaukee needed a 2B a lot more than a 3B and they gave up a considerably better package.

[Squirrel]

Wow.

[chaderic20]

I think too much is being made of Forsythe here.  He's only signed through this year and there's no chance we'll resign him. Gordon isn't ready yet anyway. And Forsythe will probably only be a bench player anyway.  My guess is Adrianza takes over at 2nd until Sept when Gordon will likely come up and split time with him.  Or possibly Polanco slides over to 2nd and Adrianza takes SS.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Based on the trade return, I really wonder if the Twins overplayed their hand in Dozier trade talks. If the rumored Brewers interest was real I have a hard time believing we couldn't have gotten a better deal from them (before they traded for Moustakas). Milwaukee needed a 2B a lot more than a 3B and they gave up a considerably better package.

 

They also got a younger player who is playing a bit better (not much) and has another year of control. Schoop is a better bet than Dozier to have a better 2019.

[slash129]

 

Solid for AA performance, but not much for projecting a MLB future. Below average BB%, above average K%. 119 wRC+ per Fangraphs, and he's almost 24 in AA (admittedly a college draftee).

 

and about 500 more PAs than Rooker, with less results (except for a lower K-rate), who is probably his competition (or platoon mate?)

[Bob Sacamento]

Baseball America on Luke Raley before the 2018 season:

 

 

 

Raley hit .424/.528/.727 his junior season at Lake Erie (Ohio), and the Dodgers made him the highest Division II player taken in 2016 when they selected him in the seventh round. He signed for $147,500. Raley made the jump from D-II competition to high Class A Rancho Cucamonga without a hitch in 2017, earning all-star honors in the California League and finishing with an .848 OPS. Raley is a physical, strong lefthanded hitter who wears cutoff T-shirts to show off his biceps. He packs legitimate above-average power and has the bat speed and swing path to get to it without sacrificing batting average. His power plays to all fields, and more could come as he learns to be more consistent in putting together quality at-bats, an area targeted for growth. Defensively, Raley is above-average in left field. He has good pre-pitch instincts, closes distance on ground balls exceptionally well, is quick getting the ball out of his glove and has an above-average, accurate arm that flashes plus. Raley further draws raves for his work ethic and competitiveness. Scouts consider Raley a sleeper who could bust out if his power goes up one more tick. He will head to Double-A Tulsa in 2018.

[RaymondLuxuryYacht]

April 1 - thru July 30 narrative - Dozier is underperforming, overrated, disappointing, in fact he almost sucks.

 

July 31 narrative - they should have gotten so much more for an asset like Dozier.

[Bob Sacamento]

 

I think too much is being made of Forsythe here.  He's only signed through this year and there's no chance we'll resign him. Gordon isn't ready yet anyway. And Forsythe will probably only be a bench player anyway.  My guess is Adrianza takes over at 2nd until Sept when Gordon will likely come up and split time with him.  Or possibly Polanco slides over to 2nd and Adrianza takes SS.

Forsythe was taken in return to ease the Dodgers salary so they don't go over the cap

[Cap'n Piranha]

I think Falvine was convinced that if they extended a QO, Dozier would take it—if it’s 18M, he’d be crazy to turn it down. Therefore, this is the only chance to get anything for him. I also think that with some of the moves other teams have made, the Dodgers may have been the last game in town, so they took what they could get and called it a day.

[Monkeypaws]

Raley has OPS'ed over .800 the last 2 years despite being about half a year younger than league average. 

 

I foresee Twins OF 1B DH spots getting crowded in the near future.

 

If that means a slugger at DH, I am all for it. We haven't had a good one in the longest while.

[jorgenswest]

I like the return better than the Kinsler return.

 

I wonder if they would look at Adrianza at SS and Polanco at 2B which is probably the better defensive fit.

 

Out of the box look- Rosario at 2B with Buxton or Wade coming up to play OF.

[twins_89]

 

Any chance the Twins just dump Forsythe after the trade, similar to what the Rangers did with Austin Jackson?

 

I'd pass Forsythe through revocable waivers tomorrow and then give him a month of regular playing time and see if he can regain the production he had in 2015-16 with the Rays. Maybe there is a slim chance he could be traded again in August for a lottery ticket prospect.

[Twodogs]

Logan Forsythe?? Hopefully the Twins can flip him too?

[Bob Sacamento]

BA on Devin Smeltzer at the 2016 draft:

 

 

 

A cancer survivor, Smeltzer has long endeared himself to scouts with his never-say-never attitude and work ethic. He inspired the annual Swing For The Cure Camp, an event held in the northeast each year to raise money for children with health concerns. Smeltzer was a 33rd-round pick of the Padres out of high school in 2014, didn't sign and attended Florida Gulf Coast. After a year of pitching for FGCU, Smeltzer transferred to San Jacinto (Texas) and posted an excellent 2016 campaign. His fastball works in the upper 80s and sneaks into the low 90s when he needs a little extra oomph. His best offspeed pitch is his changeup, which he throws for strikes and uses to induce poor contact. Smeltzer has a slider that earns fringe-average reviews from scouts, but flashes sharp break when it's on. He'll need to continue getting stronger, but he has good control of a three-pitch mix and he's lefthanded, so teams will be interested in signing him. He struck out 20 in his final start, though he threw 140 pitches in the NJCAA World Series outing.

[slash129]

 

I foresee Twins OF 1B DH spots getting crowded in the near future.

 

Diaz probably drops off that radar. He's been brutal since his promotion to A+ and now he's hurt.

[jtkoupal]

Logan Forsythe has been absolutely awful this year.

 

However, he is only 1 year removed from being a serviceable player. 

 

Furthermore, he does own a career .796 OPS vs Left-Handed Pitching.

 

The Twins could use that going forward if they chose. However, I don't see Forsythe being a Twin for very long, as I would anticipate Adrianza being favored to stay around above Forsythe. The roster probably isn't big enough for both of them in 2019.

[Puckett34]

Saw Dozier's first career home run on 5/13/2012 at Target Field.    Mothers Day that year in his 7th career game.     My parents were with me, as was my now wife.    I've seen many of his games since, several stick out.    2 walkoff home runs in a week in 2015, walkoff grand slam this year, and too many to count last year and 2016.

 

 

It's gonna be weird without #2 playing 2nd.

[Brandon]

 

Forsythe may benefit from a change of scenery... 
Fun Fact albeit a SSS: Forsythe's highest batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS by ballpark in his career is Target Field... .333 AVG, .600 SLG, 1.021 OPS in 19 PA's

 

So the front office is again pulling a play from the Terry Ryan playbook and getting a player who is terrible but good against Twins pitching.....

[Otto von Ballpark]

I actually like the Raley kid raking at Tulsa this year - LH spray hitter with extra base power who also destroyed both rookie ball and high A the last two years.

Destroyed high-A? It was a 129 wRC+. Preceded by a 104 wRC+ in A, and now a 119 wRC+ in AA.

 

He was a college draftee, who cares what he did in 44 PA of rookie ball.

 

Looking at his stat lines, I am not detecting power as a standout skill, or contact, or plate discipline...

[Homer Hanky]

 

Odd parallel:

Logan Forsythe hit 20 homers his last season in Tampa.

Logan Morrison hit 38 homers his last season in Tampa.

Since leaving TB both Logans have struggled at the plate.

Lesson learned: don't pick up guys from TB named Logan.

They miss their hitting coach who is our bench coach... maybe there is a secret! 

[Bob Sacamento]

 

I think Falvine was convinced that if they extended a QO, Dozier would take it—if it’s 18M, he’d be crazy to turn it down. Therefore, this is the only chance to get anything for him. I also think that with some of the moves other teams have made, the Dodgers may have been the last game in town, so they took what they could get and called it a day.

Twins had three options:

 

1) Keep and Extend Dozier

2) Keep Dozier for the rest of the season offer him a QO at ~18M and hope he signs elsewhere and get the #75th pick overall (between 2nd and 3rd rd)

3)Trade him now and get what you can

[108Stitches]

ANOTHER aa pitcher?? How are they gonna fit all these people on the roster?

[Tom Froemming]

I think there is some value in this being sort of a "turn the page" type of trade. We all know Dozier was sort of the de facto voice of the clubhouse after Torii retired. Since he wasn't going to be coming back, I do think it may make things easier to move forward without him being around.

 

I dunno, just my two cents looking from the outside in.

 

Either way, you've got a stopgap to temporarily fill second base for the rest of the year if you choose and two guys who've been in Double A. I've been suspicious that Dozier has been playing a little banged up all year, so this is the return to be expected, I suppose. 

 

Still, the casual fans (and by that I mean mainly Vikings and Wild fans who happen to know the Twins exist) are going to have a field day with this one.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I like the return better than the Kinsler return.

 

 

Perhaps, but that wasn't a good return to begin with. It could be "better" but still be bad.

[Brock Beauchamp]

So the Dodgers get Dozier and the Twins get Forsythe.

 

We all realize this deal is hilarious, right?