Twins second baseman Logan Forsythe has cleared revocable trade waivers and can now be freely dealt to any team, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. This means that all 29 other teams passed on claiming Forsythe during the August waiver period.
It isn’t much of a surprise that Forsythe went unclaimed, as Minnesota might have simply let the claiming team take the infielder off their roster entirely. Forsythe’s inclusion in the deadline day trade of Brian Dozier to the Dodgers was largely just to help offset salaries, so the Twins could have just taken the opportunity to save themselves the roughly $2.1MM still owed to Forsythe for the remainder of the season.
Since coming to Minnesota, however, Forsythe has gained some trade value (as well as helped his offseason free agent stock) thanks to a major hot streak. The 31-year-old is batting .379/.429/.448 with four doubles over 63 PA in a Twins uniform, and while it’s obviously too early to draw a conclusion from such a small sample size, it certainly looks as if Forsythe is benefiting from a change of scenery. He was, after all, a solidly above-average hitter in 2015 and 2016 when playing for the Rays, and only ran into struggles after being traded to Los Angeles.
Forsythe has mostly played as a second baseman during his career, though he has also seen significant time at third base and started a handful of games at first base, shortstop and both corner outfield spots. This versatility and a possibly-revived bat make him an interesting potential addition for several contenders down the stretch. Olney suggests the Indians as a team that could have interest, as Cleveland could deploy Forsythe at second and then use Jason Kipnis to address its lack of outfield depth.
Not needed in Cleveland, adding him to 2B and Kipnis to the OF is less than what they’ll get from the revolving door in the OF and leaving Kipnis at 2B.
I disagree. He would be a great addition simply to have a productive bench bat. Look at who the Tribe currently has as their pinch hitter optikns and you will cringe.
Trading and taking on that contract for a bench bat? No thanks, they need to find out if these kids can hit.
trade him back to San Diego, they can use any help they can get..
Why would the Padres pay 2.1 million for a guy to play the last 40 games of a season in which they are already out of it? Luis Urias is getting called up any day here soon. The future.
Braves could use an upgrade over Ryan Flaherty.
Forsythe has always had a cool name, but that’s the only thing he’s got going for him these days
A cool name and a two week hot streak.