Logan Forsythe is taking a red-eye from the left coast tonight and will be at Target Field and available on Wednesday when the Twins wrap up a three-game series against the Indians.
That surely has Twins fans excited.
The initial feedback I've received from fans is, why? Well, it's more like, WHY!!!!
Forsythe, a veteran handyman, is part of a three player package the Twins received for Brian Dozier on Wednesday. The Twins also received two prospects. One is outfielder Luke Raley, who has 17 home runs for Class AA Tulsa. The other is lefthander Devin Smeltzer, who is 5-5, 4.73 at Tulsa and could end up as a reliever.
Raley was rated as the Dodgers 19th best prospect in a solid farm system. I just checked MLB Pipeline, and Raley already is ranked 19th there. Interesting.
It's easy to see why Forsythe is part of the deal. He's making $9 million, the same as Dozier. So the salaries cancel out for a L.A.. team that is worried about hitting the luxury tax ceiling.
"The big picture aspect of the discussion with the Dodgers just a roster fit and we had a fit for Logan here in the short term," Twins majordomo Derek Falvey said. "He's someone who has had a lot of success in the big leagues. He's been a great clubhouse guy. We've heard a lot of good things about him. (Bench coach) Derek Shelton, in particular, knows him well from some time in Tampa with him, and this just felt like, as we worked through negotiations, it was the right fit in the deal."
But why can't the Twins get more then when they are essentially agreeing to take on the remainder of Forsythe's salary? I do wonder if the Twins slow played their Dozier hand and missed out on a better deal. The teams that could have used second base help - like Arizona, Milwaukee and Boston (Boston did take a look at Dozier) - addressed their issues. The Brewers are going to try Travis Shaw at second and Jonathan Schoop at short. Wow.