The offseason is Friedman’s time to shine

Nov 29, 2022 - 1:00 PM

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It’s rare that an organization whose club is incredibly competitive at the big league level has a flourishing farm system that is consistently pumping out quality major leaguers. Often times, once top prospects are called up, the farm system needs some rebuilding.

The Dodgers are an exception and that gives them flexibility, or what Andrew Friedman calls “optionality”, writes Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Ultimately, this is a big offseason for the Dodgers and they do have plenty of options. As the roster currently sits, there are plenty of holes that need to be filled. The starting rotation needs to be revamped, both Trea and Justin Turner are free agents, and Cody Bellinger was non-tendered.

That being said, the Dodgers are freeing up a ton of money. With David Price, Craig Kimbrel, and presumably Bellinger and Trea Turner’s contracts off the books, Friedman has options. If he wants to go out and sign a big free agent, he can. If he decides to trade promising young prospects like he did when he traded for Mookie Betts, he can do that too.

What I don’t expect Friedman to do is sit around and try and save money. The Dodgers’ championship window can only stay open for so long. You need to capitalize when you can.

So do I expect the Dodgers to add quality talent this offseason through one channel or another? 100000%.

Would it surprise me if Friedman found a way to add another marquee name to the roster? Absolutely not. The guy is a wizard. Sit back and let him do his job. I promise the Dodgers will be playing in October.

Read Ardaya’s complete article here.

Dodgers Links

Juan Toribio of MLB.com breaks down the Dodgers’ offseason needs and how they can best tackle the offseason.

One player that the Dodgers could bring in to bolster the rotation is Justin Verlander, whom met with the Dodgers on Monday, writes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN ranked all thirty teams in terms of best-fit for the top free agent on the market, Aaron Judge. To no surprise, the Dodgers come in very high on his list.