Minnesota Twins trade Brian Dozier against Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired second-baseman Brian Dozier of the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

The Twins received striker Logan Forsythe and two minor league players – outfielder Luke Raley and southpaw Devin Smeltzer. The Dodgers acquired right-handed reliever John Axford of the Toronto Blue Jays for right-handed minor leagues Corey Copping

Dozier and Axford join a Dodgers team that is in a close race with Arizona in the United States. west of NL

Dozier, who was the fifth player traded by the Twins over the past five days, has only a .224 record but has 16 home runs and 52 RBIs this season.

Dozier, 31, is expected to become a free agent after this season. The former All-Star has spent his entire seven-year career with the Twins, who are looking to the future in the midst of a disappointing season.

Dozier and his new teammate Manny Machado, who was acquired in a deal with the Orioles, have 23-year-old Raley, is .275 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs for Double-A Tulsa this season. Smeltzer, 22, is 5-5 with a 4.73 ERA in 23 appearances (14 starts) for Tulsa

Axford (4-1), 35, has played 45 appearances this season, by scoring 50 outs in 51 innings. compiling an MPM of 4.41. He led the National League in reserve with the Brewers in 2011 and has 144 career stops, but he has not been used as a narrower role this season.

The veteran also played for the Cardinals, Indians, Pirates, Rockies and Athletics his career.

Cropping, 24, is 4-0 with a 2.52 earned run average over 35 appearances in two levels of the Dodgers this season. He is currently at the city of Oklahoma Triple A.

Associated Press contributed to this report.