Dodgers: Andrew Friedman Says Los Angeles Will Pursue Star Players In Free Agency
Recently a writer at NBC Sports speculated that the Los Angeles Dodgers were only interested in putting off the perception of pursuit of star players in free agency. Then Ken Rosenthal said the Dodgers were interested in Josh Donaldson, which isn’t quite equal with Anthony Rendon.
Indeed – reading between the lines – it seems like the Dodgers may just settle without landing one of the big prizes on the market again. However, that is only my opinion or gut feeling.
What’s more important is what Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says. And on Tuesday, Friedman spoke in response to the idea that the Dodgers aren’t looking for star players on MLB Network Radio.
Expect the #Dodgers to be in on the top of the free agent and trade market this off-season. pic.twitter.com/Zg6KDFp4BF
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) November 27, 2019
Moreover, Friedman says that the Dodgers are simply trying to hedge their bets. For example, if they can’t land Anthony Rendon; they settle for Josh Donaldson and call it a win.
“Your point is a fair one and I think it’s a mis-perception, we don’t have a cold or calculated number where we can’t go a dollar over. We try to get creative in deals and structure them in different deals and not just box ourselves in to just get one specific player or trade idea. We try to have as many options as we can. And by having as many options as we can it increases our odds. Lining up on trades or free agents are really difficult. Having as many ‘outs’ as you can increases your chances of lining up on something.”
The issue is there is often no comparable option when talking about a star player like Gerrit Cole. By comparison – Zack Wheeler is a fine pitcher – but there’s a reason Cole is the coveted player on the market.
Still, Friedman says that the Dodgers have a mindset of remaining aggressive.
“Our mindset for the most part is being aggressive and there was someone who wrote something about us being interested in a star player weeks ago. I said I can’t speak towards an individual player. But I think it’s safe to assume if there’s a star-type player available, we’re going to pursue it. It doesn’t always work for us within whatever constraints we have, and our mindset is to continue to do that.”
Finally, this seems like an odd quote. If I were the show host, I would ask Friedman to expand upon those constraints since the president of baseball operations said the Dodgers aren’t afraid to ‘go a dollar over’ the luxury tax.
Time will tell on the Dodgers’ true intentions, and whether or not they are serious about landing a top-tier free agent.
NEXT: Andrew Friedman Talks Off-Season Re-tooling
Until they actually sign someone, and I mean a big someone not a rehab project, this is all just fancy double talk. Pursuing a free agent and signing one is not the same thing. Kind of like getting to the WS is not the same as winning it.
Meanwhile the Padres are having quite a pre-Thanksgiving day.
Andrew Friedman is for real.
He is? Yeah, right!!!! I’ll believe it when I see it!!!! Words mean nothing!!! Proof the nonbelievers want, not promises!!! I was very disappointed this past playoffs that I don’t believe a thing until proven wrong..
Genius already admitted to the baseball world that he likes to pretend to show interest to jack up the price so that’s all it is until proven otherwise. It’s a good strategy to get other teams to over pay BUT we should be signing some of them for ourselves when we need to. This is one of those years. Sign Cole and Bentances and jack up the price for the rest of the FA
Friedman is on top of his game. That is why we go to the playoffs every year. And, that being said, I STILL think he will attempt to sign a high end pitcher this year. It could be Cole; but if it is Strasburg, Ryu, or him; he will have an option or 2 worked in. As for the everyday players, he is not going to jump. I think he does a lot of bluffing. And prices jump as a result.
Let Ryu go. He’s injury prone and the league will knock him around next year. You’ll see.
See Friedman was right They went after big stars and resigned Rocky Gale!
It seems like the players the Dodgers are interested in e.g Will Smith, Drew Pomeranz are off the board. Has the team taking a step backwards and the rest of the N.L. West i.e. Padres inched closer?
Friedman knows what he is doing . The people here who criticize him know very little or perhaps they may have a job in baseball. I trust him .
FUDMAN TALKS BIG, NEEDS TO GET HIS HEAD OUT OF HIS ASS AND GO GET THESE FA AGENGES AND SHOW DODGER FANS SOMETHING INSTEAD OF WAITING TILL THE YOUNG AND GREAT PLAYERS ARE GONE, SIGN THE PLAYERS ALL OF US ARE TALKING ABOUT AND KEEP THE BALL PARK FULL.THEN FANS WILL COME.
Anyone who believes the Dodgers will sign a top flight free agent is in for a big disappointment. The Dodgers simply don’t give out deals beyond 4 years, and that won’t get it done for Cole, Strasburg, or Rendon. We’re more likely to see Ryu and Donaldson on 2 or 3 year deals. That will make the Dodgers favorites to win the NL West, but don’t plan for any World Series celebrations.
Let’s face it: The Dodgers are and will remain a good playoff-caliber team for a few more years. However, past experience has shown that the Dodgers are just not willing to put out the big bucks for long-term contracts in order to get the top-tier Free Agents. There’s also another factor that works against the Dodgers-they’re in one of the highest taxed states in the country, which is why we don’t have Bryce Harper. They should have won the 2017 World Series and considering that it appears that the Houston Astros cheated, that hurts. But 2019 exposed the Dodger’s weakness with the pitching staff. I’ve said for the past few years that Dave Robert’s should be very weary of pitching Clayton Kershaw in the playoffs. He gives up too damned may HR’s in the Playoffs and his PO record is abysmal! Don’t get me wrong! Kershaw is going into the Hall of Fame, but he’s no Sandy Koufax when it comes to winning the “Big One”!