December 20th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 Back on August 2, 2019, Dodger fans considered the possibility that the front offices of certain major league teams were intimidated by Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Not hard to imagine when you consider that the Cincinnati Reds are still smarting from the December 21, 2018 trade that brought highly regarded prospects Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs to the Dodgers in exchange for Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, and Kyle Farmer. Or the Seattle Mariners, who sent Chris Taylor to the Dodgers on June 19, 2016 for failed pitching prospect Zach Lee.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
At the July 31, 2019 trading deadline, the Dodgers were willing to trade some very good prospects in order to improve the roster, specifically the bullpen. But other teams reportedly would not budge unless Friedman was willing to overpay by trading the team’s very top prospects.
Speed forward five months to December 2019 and it appears that certain teams are still reluctant to make trades with Friedman unless the Dodgers top prospects are in play. As the old idiom reminds us: “It takes two to tango” … or fight, or in this case, consummate a trade. Unless both parties agree to a deal, there is no deal. Negotiating 101. If the other party isn’t serious about reaching an agreement, continuing to negotiate is, at best, a waste of time; or worse – you concede too much and come out the loser.
Dodgers fans can become agitated by the lack of action by Friedman and his staff thus far this offseason, but it is better to walk away from a trade rather than making a bad deal for the team’s long-term competitive position.
The Dodgers should continue to walk away from other teams’ uncompromising demands for some combination of Gavin Lux, Dustin May, and/or Keibert Ruiz for players like Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Mike Clevinger, or Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts.
History has repeatedly shown us that no deal is much better than a bad deal.
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Posted in 
Are you kidding me? We have a chance of adding proven alk stars to the Dodgers for prospects. This conservative thinking is why we haven’t won a World Series in over 30 years!
I am all for adding quality players for a reasonable return – to overpay is just bad decision making that has resulted in other teams trying to dump salaries of high priced mistakes like Jason Heyward, David Price, Justin Upton, Jason Schmidt, Matt Kemp…I could easily go on, but hopefully you get the point
Jesse while I agree here to a certain extent, we do know that no team can conceivably keep all its prospects. Talk is that Dodgers do have an abundance of depth on the farm PLUS a few excess of LH hitters they could put in a proposed deal. However I certainly would have exhausted ALL FA possibilities first before going the trade route.
Because a team has an abundance of talent is no reason to overpay in a deal with another team, or to overpay a free agent. That is simply bad business and will eventually run a team into the ground as the Dodgers were under previous ownerships.
Yeah, it should be hard to criticize someone for things they cannot control, but in Friedman’s case not so much. Many fans just want to see a deal no matter what. They scream when nothing happens and they scream with 20/20 hindsight when things don’t work out.
Can’t count number of posts I’ve read this off-season berating Friedman for the Kershaw and Jansen contracts, most likely by the same people who were demanding they be resigned just a few years ago.
All that said, I think it shouldn’t be “Friedman the Intimidator”, but the “Dodgers the Intimidators”.
I’ve been a Friedman supporter from the start. It looked to me that small market GM Friedman knew that the head of an organization is only as good as the people behind him. I seem to recollect that among the first things that Friedman did when hired by the Dodgers was to do a lot of house cleaning and massive hiring of scouts, analytical personal, former GM’s, etc. He built a back office fitting of a big market financial powerhouse. He brought the often criticized (at the time) Dodgers into the 21st century.
We now are reaping the benefits of all that. Instead of having the HIGHEST, bloated payroll, we have money, prospects and young cheap MLB talent giving us lots of options while winning more games than any other MLB team during the last five years (I think I’m right about winning the most games). The Dodger organization has been mostly kicking butt on draft picks, trades and passing on high priced free-agents.
The future is bright and would be even brighter if other teams weren’t so intimidated of being humiliated by the Dodger back-office juggernaut if they trade with us and player agents demanding more money/years from the Dodgers than other teams. Happily, I believe we can continue to expect the Dodgers to shine in what they can control, DRAFTING!
Excellent point; it isn’t just Friedman, it is the collective staff that he has assembled. It is just easier to identify him as the guy where the buck stops (although it may also be Kasten). There is zero chance that guys like Brian Cashman, Theo Epstein, Alex Anthopoulos, etc. are hesitant to deal with Friedman, but I believe there are GM’s that do not want to risk “losing” to the Dodgers in trades, so will only make a deal if they get the very best prospects in return.
Jesse, but when all is said and done when it matters most October has not been good for the dodgers because still no WS rings going on 32 years. On another blog, someone made a good point in saying that no team in MLB can actually expect to win a WS with a roster 100% from the farm.
How many teams are composed of all 100% of players from its farm system? The answer is zero. To your other point, I disagree that October matters most. There are two separate seasons; regular season, and post season. IMO the regular season is the true measure of a team. Post season championships, like all post season tournaments, is based on a short period of time where breaks of the game, slumps, hot streaks, etc. usually determine the outcome. On paper, the Astros should have won the 2019 WS, but the Nationals have the rings. I know that I am in the minority, but the regular season means more to me than the watered down MLB post season tournament.
Ok then, correct, but I never implied to over pay with guys from the farm or over spend in FA. But this off season to many fans has been a bust so far and ask fans if they are Ok with Dodgers not winning a WS going on 32 years. Most fans I have talked to feel October baseball is where it means the most. Did you or anyone here enjoy the outcome of Robert’s decisions in Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS?
106 wins last year. 106. Yet some folks wail about the awful [ so far ] off season. I sometimes just shake my head.
The Dodgers have only the specter of ‘closer’ Kenley Jansen as an actual weakness for the 2020 team. Addressing that, and losing A J Pollock, would make this off season a huge win, imo. I very much dig the fact that Friedman makes no deal every time rather than a poor reactionary deal. I still miss Ned , a groovy guy, but can’t argue with the job A F has done.
Well said / written. I think Jansen will bounce back, and if Treinen gets back to his 2018 performance the Dodgers are in excellent shape for the bullpen
Jesse, I’m glad to hear (OK, see) you say that about Kenley. I was getting to think I was the only one who expects good things from Kenley going forward.
The Dodgers brass will continue to not add any big name players, they don’t have to as long as we keep putting out record attendance year after year, management is happy to just win the division
Winning the division puts the team in the post season which is nothing more than a crap shoot where the best team seldom wins the championship
IDK about that every year though. In 2018 Boston WAS the best team and embarrassed the Dodgers and Roberts in 5 games. The Cubs were the best team in 2016. But with a team that is unbalanced as far as the offense goes (too LH) Freidman himself expressed unhappiness with what this LH hitting lineup did in the 2019 NLDS. The team with the better front line pitching will usually win the WS more often than not. And recall what former 1st baseman Eric Karros said after the Dodgers were swept in back to back NLDS in 1995 and 1996…. “We didn’t win because we did not have a good enough ball club , it’s that simple”.
Check how many times the World Series has been won by the underdog, the wild card team, and in a couple of series it was two wild card teams playing in the WS
Of course that has happened with the under dog winning a title. I get that. But I have been told by many that the Dodgers just were either not good enough as a whole to win a title or recently i have read from others where they indicated Roberts had a great deal to do with the outcome because of his poor handling of the pitching and all.
By Chris Landers
October 29, 2018
The Red Sox posted a whopping 108 victories in the regular season, tied for the ninth-highest win total in MLB history. Their right fielder may well win AL MVP. Their designated hitter nearly won the Triple Crown. They were the team of the 2018 — and now, after dispatching the Dodgers in five games, they’ve managed to join one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs: best regular-season record and World Series champion: The Red Sox became only the 13th team EVER to post MLB’s best record and then win the World Series.
Unbelievably small percentage, especially when you consider for many years MLB teams only had to win one playoff round, the World Series.
Granted, it would have been wonderful to have a right-handed masher in the playoffs this year. Who knew all Friedman had to do was keep Clutch Kendrick? Not me. I admit, I was even thinking, man I’m glad we got rid of that guy when he couldn’t field a grounder earlier in the series.
Yeah, front line pitching is GREAT if you want to win MLB games. 2019 Regular Season Rankings:
1. Dodgers, 3.37 ERA
3. Houston, 3.66 ERA
13. Washington 4.27 ERA
Bottom Line: A lot of times it’s better to be lucky rather than good.
Lastly, tell Karros his 0 for 9 in the 1996 playoffs might have also been a big reason we lost that year.
1952 World Series Gil Hodges had 26 plate appearances; no hits, 5 walks, 1 run scored. During regular season, 32 home runs, 102 RBI
Wow, what a time to go into a slump Gil. Probably a big reason the 96 win Dodgers lost to the 95 win Yankees that year. Also probably a big reason Gil isn’t in the Hall of Fame.
But in my opinion, the Hall should give Gil huge consideration for managing the 1969 Miracle Mets to a World Series victory over the 109 win Baltimore Orioles. Huge upset.
No matter, Gil will always be a HERO in my eyes, he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for heroism under fire during WWII.
Semper Fi Gil
Jesse, I appreciate your perspective. I agree with you 100%. I enjoy seeing the Dodgers win year after year. The World Series would be nice but it is really a 7 game crap shoot. The regular season is more important to me than the World Series. Go Dodgers.
Boxout7 and all other Dodgers fans who remember Gil Hodges. I think the HOF veterans committees should be ashamed of themselves for not enshrining Hodges into Cooperstown. Last year DH Harold Baines was added to the HOF, yet Hodges with comparable offensive stats, missed two full years of professional baseball due to military service in 1945 and 1946, was a Gold Glove first baseman, and a MLB manager is no longer being considered. Shameful!
While I completely agree with with the comments regarding the great Gil Hodges I want to put forth another Dodger that should be in the HOF, that being Maury Wills. I’m totally baffed why neither of them weren’t elected years ago.
At this point I do show a preference to Maury only because it’s already too late to honor Gil in his lifetime.
Jesse I agree w you about not overpaying. And here’s another perspective. If teams like Cleveland thinks they have a better chance down the road with Lux and May doesn’t it reason them that WE have a better chance of winning down the road if we keep them? All that takes is patience.
And a good trade is when both teams get something they need for something they don’t need. We need our good prospects just as much as other teams want them!
Excellent points! thanks
Are you kidding with this… The Dodgers cant overpay? Lux and May are minor league PROSPECTS. No one can be sure how good they will be. On the other hand, Lindor and Betts have been ALL STAR players on winning teams. Clevinger is reaching his peak, would be a #2 pitcher with the Dodgers, and is still under team control for several seasons.
Here is the real gamble: Assuming that prospects will become superstars.
Look at Julio Urias, does anyone have a clue how good he might be?
Superstars win championships. Especially 2 of more dominant pitchers on the same roster.
For those of you who get excited about being dominant in the regular season, how did you feel when the Giants won the championship as a wild card?
Come on… Lets go get some superstars so Clayton Kershaw can win a championship… As a Dodger.
Personally I’d like to see the Dodgers give up some talent to get some experienced proven talent.
as long as Freeman is the general manager of operations the dodgers won’t win a world series because he lets all the trades go away he don’t make deals and he lets everything passing by so they need to fire him to get somebody who wants to make the dodgers start winning again