Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Andrew Friedman Calls Pederson, Stripling Trade Rumors Awkward

Undeniably, when the Los Angeles Dodgers trade to the Los Angeles Angels that would have sent Ross Stripling and Joc Pederson across town got nixed; a lot of us were happy. It goes without saying that these two players have been part of our lives following the Dodgers and the game of baseball for a long time now.

Beyond being fan favorites, they both help the organization win ballgames. Indeed, that is the brass tacks and trumps sentimental allegiances. Recently, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman joined MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM to talk about both players remaining Dodgers in 2020.



Initially, Friedman talks about how the situation came to be in the first place. Then, he talks about his appreciation for the adjustments that Joc Pederson has made in developing from young prospect to current lefty masher in the lineup.

“We were working on a lot of different combinations of deals, with the end goal to end up with Mookie Betts and David Price. And so it took on a lot of different life forms and iterations, there were a lot of moving parts. I don’t think the full picture was really captured publicly. For us, we think the improvement about Joc; he’s a guy who has gotten better every single year. You look at his strikeout rate and his October performance. His value and what he means to this club and it’s not lost on us.”

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Next – Friedman talks about one of our personal favorites on the mound – Ross Stripling. Personally, Stripling is a guy I have always loved to watch pitch. He brings an immense amount of guile and even on days his best stuff isn’t with him, he battles with an intelligence to get hitters out. It seems like the head man knows this better than anyone.

“With Stripling, he was an All-Star and the consummate teammate. He really backs up the words of whatever it takes for the team to win. For both guys, we are happy they are members of the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers. And both guys are also happy to be Dodgers. I think obviously conversations happen. As things were getting out I talked with both of them and kept them abreast best I could. Obviously there were just so many moving parts playing out publicly. It was a little awkward and uncomfortable.”

So many times over the course of my life I have seen strokes of irony play out in baseball. With a second lease on their baseball life at Chavez Ravine, don’t be surprised if you see one or both of these players come up with a key season-defining moment that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible if this trade went through.

NEXT: Dodgers Predicted To Top 100 Wins by PECOTA

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41 Comments

  1. Advice to Friedman. Don’t drink and trade. I think Friedman had one too many dry martinis before trying to trade Pederson and Stripling to the Angels in exchange for nobody.

  2. Oh man just when I thought they got rid of the most un clutch hitter whiff Pederson he’s back. A very unnecessary hitter who can’t hit lefties at all. Stripling can’t even throw a good mid 90s fastball anymore and relies on an umpire wide strike zone. We need the young guys to take these 2 wasted roster spots.

    1. you obviously didn’t see joc get on a roll after the all star game last year. he was finally seeing the ball and crushing tape measure jacks. platoon with pollock is a perfect world.

        1. He isn’t a natural 1st baseman, but they were trying to give home a chance. But they really didn’t give him a lot of time to hone his 1st baseman skills. He made a couple of mistakes, and POOF they gave up on him. That is TERRIBLE on a person’s psyche. BTW, they should have gotten rid of Davey Roberts.

          1. He made silly mistakes any athletic player makes. Trade him and fill the farm system with a draft pick. He takes up valuable roster space.

      1. Look in the mirror when accusing someone of not seeing games. You took a very small sample size and say oh he’s seeing the ball. His average the last 2 post seasons is 222 and strikes out 30% of the time. He’s under 200 vs lefties. The problem I see is that when they replace or platoon him we get the usual weakies Pollock, Taylor and Kiki. That is a plan that hasn’t worked maybe ever. Give me a young guy that has good splits and turn over the position to one of many the Dodgers have on the farm. Give me Rios, Beaty and any of the others who clearly can hit 222.

    2. Yes Peterson stinks versus lefties but the guy destroys righties ,look at his HR/per AB ratio its almost at the tops in all of baseball (36 HR’s as a platoon player ) and to give Him up for a crappy infield prospect to the cross town Angels would of been dumb .

    3. Sure. Pedersen post season OPS .833. Seager post season OPS .601. Bellinger post season OPS .560. Let’s trade Bellinger and Seager for some prospects and a bag of BP baseballs! Right?

      1. We need more contact hitters in the post season he clouted a huge 239 average and his OPB is 329 while whiffing in key spots every time we needed contact. Maybe l;look at all the stats before belittling Seager and Belle.

        1. I agree Nik, Bellinger is hitting a whopping .178 in the playoffs with 52 strikeouts. He’s got a pretty large sample size now but he’s not alone. And people wonder why we haven’t won a World Series it’s because the mindset from our best players is all wrong and no one is keeping them in check

    4. Exactly, and just when we were starting to get away from platooning, sitting hot hitters, leading the league in strikeouts, and gaining more base running speed, Joc returns…. At least we still have him to trade in July…

      1. I can’t believe how rude and unbusinesslike the Dodgers were toward Joc and Ross. It was SO unnecessary to put them and their families through that. I no longer have any respect for management.

        1. Oh how horrible for the millionaires, for a whole week they didn’t know if they were going to live in a big house in LA or in Newport Beach

  3. Exactly, and just when it looked like the Dodgers were finally getting away from their insane platooning experiment, there’s Joc again clogging up the playoff roster and Roberts sitting down a hot hitter…. Hope they can deal him at the deadline…

  4. Wow…LOL…really?! Total GM speak from someone who DID keep two “valued” players guessing/in limbo while trying to acquire 2 others who he deemed (by his actions) more important to the franchise. But the full BS of his words won’t be realized until 1 or possibly both are STILL dealt in the coming day/weeks!

  5. Pederson & Stripling WERE/ARE great Dodgers assets and really don’t make all that much money. For Friedman to trade them for a nobody just to reduce the budget a little is total BS!
    Joc is a real Fan Favorite…and who is gonna replace those 36 homeruns (as a part time player)???? I think as long as he hits that much better than Pollock they should switch!

  6. Pederson is one of the few Dodgers to perform well in the postseason. You cannot discount 36 homers…even as a platoon player with A.J. in left field if both stay healthy. Stripling is saavy with a sometimes leathal curve ball who may blossom further as the younger arms develop. Sometimes the best trades are the ones that are not made..Hopefully, our pitching can hold the fort until our offense beats the crap out of the opposition. Can’t wait.
    Dodger fan George since she 10- 1955

  7. This team was CHEATED out of 2 WS Championships. Nothing matters until the CHEATERS are banned for life!

    1. In the meantime the Dodgers need to finally win one there’s no excuses now and there’s no justification for platooning and shuffling now either except maybe in LF

  8. Platooning Joc and Pollack in left field should yield a high OPS [.835 if you average what they did in 2019] with more than average defense. It could yield 40 home runs or more from left field. What is wrong with that kind or production from your third most productive outfield player?

  9. There is currently a glut of outfielders. Pederson striking out a lot? How about Pollock’s 11Ks in 13 at bats during the playoffs? Also there is no guarantee he will remain healthy during the entire season. My guess is Pederson was odd man out initially because no one wants Pollock. My thoughts

    1. Another problem with Joc is his loss in arbitration which can result in him being resentful toward the Dodgers and potentially affect his performance.

      1. I think Joc is smart enough to figure out that he is at a crossroads, and just needs to play ball, and let the things that are out of his control, like arbitration, and trades go. Personally I hope he looks at this season as an opportunity to prove that he can be more than a platoon player. I know his past results against left handed pitchers are not pretty, but he needs to focus on his weaknesses rather than his strengths to become an everyday player. Whether he does it or not is up to him. Whether he does it with the Dodgers or another team is out of his control. All he can do is put in the work to become a better all around ball player. He mashes right-handers. His defense is well above average, and far better than Pollack. He performs in the postseason. I like the guy. I hope he takes the next step and becomes more of a contact hitter against lefties. Practice and prove it in BP, and maybe he’ll get a shot.

    2. Pollock is pathetic in fact most of this team is pathetic in postseason play when your stars aren’t stars you’ll never win. Also we just added a .174 World Series hitter who’s supposed to deliver us a title. The pitching better be other worldly in the playoffs or they’re out

  10. Joc Pedersen is welcome on any of my teams. He is a platoon and needs protection against righties. Class act in my opinion. I understand Friedman trading him at the same time. Guys like Matt Beatty need some playing time too and luxury tax avoidance is an ongoing issue. However having Joc on board for 2020 will be a positive, to think otherwise is foolish. Same with Chicken Strips Ross! Go Dodgers 2020 is ours!!!!!

  11. Joc and Pollock platoon is ideal for righty and lefty matchups. Betts and Bellinger will be in lineup everyday with an occasional day off. Lux and Kike platoon with Kike playing 2nd base to give Lux a break vs lefties. Taylor backup to Seager. Beaty backup to Muncy.
    Would love a Bryant trade for 3rd base involving Seager with Lux moving to short, Muncy to 2nd, and Turner to 1st but highly doubtful and fantasy. Need Syndergaard down road or someone special for playoff run as well.

  12. Jim, Friedman knew if he didn’t finally deliver a few top tier players, and give us a better chance to win in Sep, his days could be numbered. The press was finally acknowledging the dismay of the fanbase, and the 33 year drought!

  13. What is so funny about Joc is …In the minors Joc actually had better numbers against lefties …MLB hosts seem to think only seeing lefties once in a while is Joc’s problem and they were happy for Joc to get a chance to play everyday as an Angel….I for one am glad both players remain Dodgers…The luxuary tax would be at only 20 % and we have a lot coming off of the books for next year….yes this will hurt Kiki playing time….then again Roberts is good at resting Turner and the rest of the infield….

    1. We got idiots running this team they create these problems with their own players by platooning it’s terrible for development and I think they’re going to do it to Lux before he ever has a chance to see enough LHP at this level

      1. We pretty much have won championships if we didn’t get cheated. I think Friedman has done an AMAZING job. Dave Roberts not so much. Wait until we have an injury or two and the extra depth Joc and Ross will be appreciated.

      2. Who has been better than the Dodgers since Friedman took over? Maybe the Asterisks or the red stealers? Pretty impossible to put a better product on the field than we have. Be grateful to be a Dodger fan!!!

  14. What has saved this front office from itself has been the amount of young tallent that has come up through this system. And a few Wylie Veterans that this FO has inherited.
    I am grateful to be a Dodgers fan that has nothing to do with the FO. It has to do with Rooting for the Great team ever to step foot on a ball field. And stems from our family’s belief in this team win or loose we will always root for the Dodgers.
    Good front door or bad front office has little to do with your statements
    That can all be forgotten if they put a Ring on this teams hand.

  15. I don’t see why the Dodgers signed Pollock in the first place, his best years are behind him. Now he is keeping younger players like Beaty and Peters down on the farm

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