Dodgers Rumors: Other Teams Weren’t Excited About Jose De Leon in Trades
Jose De Leon was the Dodgers No. 2 prospect, according to multiple prospect ranking outlets. He was all it took to acquire Logan Forsythe. But the Dodgers may not have been as high on him as once believed. They weren’t alone.
Other teams weren’t overly excited at the proposition of acquiring De Leon, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.
Some rival evaluators leery of Jose De Leon (24) in trade talks. Clue:LAD scrambled for SP in 2016 but gave him only small handful of starts
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 24, 2017
De Leon turns 25 in August. While a highly regarded prospect, other teams were bound to be “leery” of his upside, especially given the Dodgers’ reluctance to promote him last season despite a myriad of pitching injuries. De Leon only logged 17 innings in Los Angeles.
[graphiq id=”3yNBnbHJFm5″ title=”Jose De Leon” width=”600″ height=”663″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/3yNBnbHJFm5″ link=”http://baseball-players.pointafter.com/l/1174771/Jose-De-Leon” link_text=”PointAfter | Graphiq” ]The Dodgers were willing to trade De Leon for Brian Dozier, though the Twins wanted more. Apparently L.A. valued Forsythe + two additional prospects over just Dozier. Either avenue saw De Leon in a new uniform. It’s reasonable to question how much Los Angeles valued De Leon.
That's not to say he's a bad prospect. He's a good pitcher. But he wasn't an indelible piece of their future.
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) January 24, 2017
De Leon could go on to have an outstanding career in Tampa Bay. The Rays are a pitching factory and have been well regarded for their handling of young arms since Andrew Friedman’s early days in the front office. The Dodgers had a surplus, and De Leon was viewed as the most expendable piece of it.
While some fans are unhappy now, if Forsythe helps the Dodgers win the National League, no one will complain.
Yasiel Puig wants to start again
What will you think the Dodgers opening day lineup will look like now with Logan Forsythe.