Soon, we will all find out how coveted Dodgers’ president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is within baseball circles. Remember, just recently Stan Kasten said he expects a return in 2020 for his head guy in the front office.
However, situations like this are always fluid. Then, the Red Sox weren’t a player in game. Now, Yahoo Sports is identifying Friedman as the perfect candidate to succeed Dave Dombroski in Boston.
The perfect #RedSox GM candidate just became a free agent — Dodgers boss Andrew Friedman – @jtomasehttps://t.co/O3r2x9MOYT pic.twitter.com/gaJX6aQkfz
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) October 10, 2019
Obviously, Friedman has built an impressive resume which will always be his legacy in Los Angeles. No one can take away the things he has helped the organization accomplish. In case you forget – and like him or not he has done it – they are spoken of within the article.
All he has done since is build one of the game’s most sustainable success stories. L.A. has won seven straight division titles, first by spending limitless amounts of money — their $291 million payroll in 2015 remains the highest ever — and then by doing it in a way that should certainly capture the attention of Red Sox owner John Henry.
Of course, no front office leader does things on his own. Friedman has had help from quality people, including big names who are highly-regarded amongst the sport as the best in the business. This is key, because if Friedman were to depart; he would likely take key people with him. Simply, it’s just part of a process when a regime leaves town or arrives to take over.
In Los Angeles, Friedman built an All-Star front office featuring no fewer than five former GMs: Josh Byrnes, Alex Anthopoulos, Tommy Lasorda, Ned Colletti, and Gerry Hunsicker. He hired liberally from the Red Sox, stealing respected figures like Dave Finley and Galen Carr. He has built the Dodgers into an analytics-driven powerhouse, which is how they ended up on the forefront of the launch angle revolution.
Finally, there are legions of Friedman supporters and detractors in the Dodgers’ fan base. However, one cannot deny that since he took over, results have followed. While the ultimate goal has not yet been reached in winning a world title, Friedman has helped put the Dodgers in position to do such perenially.
And the question that remains: do you want to see the Dodgers go all-in to keep Friedman, or are you fine with letting him go if the price is too high?
