February 5th, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka For those who bad-mouthed Andrew Friedman for “doing nothing” this off-season, shame on you.
On Tuesday evening, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman announced trade moves that could very lead to the Dodgers’ first World Series championship in 32 years.
Think this is hyperbole? Check this out:
In what may arguably go down as one of the biggest blockbuster trades in MLB history, Friedman is bringing one of, if not the best outfielders in the game today in Mookie Betts to Los Angeles in exchange for sending (extremely) popular outfielder Alex Verdugo to Boston, outfielder Joc Pederson to Anaheim, and right-hander Kenta Maeda to Minnesota, among several other major moves which have yet to be officially announced.
What this means is that the Dodgers 2020 Opening Day starting outfield could consist of 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger, and one of either AJ Pollock, Matt Beaty, Kiké Hernandez, or Chris Taylor, which, quite frankly, is an intoxicating thought.
Again, as noted and of major significance, all of the moves in this historic Friedman-orchestrated blockbuster trade are not yet known, including rumors that popular Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling and/or right-hander Tony Gonsolin may also be headed to Anaheim.
Stay tuned…
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Hopefully not Gonsolin, or Stripling. I am hoping it is David Price. Hate to see Verdugo go, but the Dodgers were able to obtain Betts while retaining Keibert Ruiz, May, Gonsolin (fingers crossed), Josiah Gray, Jeter Downs, etc. This was a WHOPPER trade!
So I’m hearing Sripling, and Joc for a .231 hitting infielder? WTF? Maybe a player to be named? It better be a good one, we already have Taylor and Kiki.
Actually
Hoping that Price stays….
He’s (hopefully) healthy, pitching in the bigger NL West parks, no DH…
I think he could have a very nice year for us.
I really don’t know it it was worth giving up Verdugo for what may be a one year rental.
How can you say that. Look I love Verdugo as well, but we just got Price and Betts straight up for Verdugo and Maeda. That is a steal in my book, oh and Boston pays us half of Price’s salary. WowI just love how this FO goes about doing their business. If I were a competitor and Freedman calls I would immediately check my back pocket to make sure he has not gotten my wallet. I know I am in the minority but we are WS contenders every year, we have a great farm system and have people who are very good at judging talent. We are going nowhere but up.
This has to go down as one of the best trades the Dodgers have made in several years or more, so far.
I think the dodgers can sign Betts long term. Many contracts will be up soon creating money. Great trade for the dodgers.
I hope you are correct. I expect the Dodgers will make him a competitive offer, hopefully he like the “Hollywood lifestyle” that turned off Rendon.
Well, what do ya think as far as this deal with Boston goes? Dodgers didn’t have to part with any of the top prospect guys but I am not sure about that deal with the Angels, although it appears to be more of a salary dump as far as dealing Pederson, Stripling goes. I am not sure Dodgers got enough from Angels in return.
Very happy with this trade! Betts and Bellinger in the same lineup, WOW!! We got the B & B boys!!
…and Beaty and Buehler … The Killer B’s are BACK!
And for the first time in a while the lineup looks balanced now. We have Bellinger, Muncy, Seager, Lux from the left side, and now Betts, Turner Smith and Pollock from the right side. In some order the above appear to be a solid starting 8 position player wise.
Add Beatty and we have the Killer Bees
Agreed, “Dodgers Win Off-Season After All”!
Great trade, While it hurts to lose Verdugo’s five yrs of control, it’s worth it. We are now in the driver’s seat to resign Betts and Verdugo may have lingering health issues with his back. Additionally, Friedman is always way ahead of the other guys, who is he targeting with Angels? What’s rumored to be going out should bring something good back. Angels top prospects are almost all outfielders. If we get Jo Adell, 2nd best prospect in all MLB, we won’t miss Verdugo for long. Angels have been saying Adell is untouchable, but if they get two MLB pitchers in addition to Pederson and Pages maybe they’ll trade him. It looks like Angels are going for it and they look powerful if they get two Dodger pitchers. My two would be Price (with money) and Stripling. I like Stripling, but he is already 30 yrs old.
Few observations:
1. Money issues in MLB are real! When a team like the Red Sox (and Cubs) need to dump salary, should really tell us something. I don’t think owning a MLB team is all that lucrative based on your investment. Only reasons to own is: a. “bigger fool” theory, being able to sell the team for a higher price to a bigger fool b. ego. Dodgers just leveraged a chunk of their financial flexibility to obtain one of the best MLB players in his prime.
2. Low priced “good” MLB talent is incredibly valuable. Anybody surprised on what we got for Maeda? His contract is a major asset to a team on a budget and trying to compete.
3. We still have all our top prospects available to trade for an ACE.
The only downside I see after the offseason: Jansen and Pollock are still Dodgers.
Hey brah…knock it off with the weaksauce troll…mmmmmkay? Friedman doing for the Dodgers what Trump is doing for the country? I don’t recall Los Doyers ever having filed for bankruptcy FIVE times just to game the system. Only Uncle Frank has similiar claims to being a financial genius^H^Hgaslighter^H^Hgrifter.
We have only three basic (and common sense) rules here on ThinkBlue LA:
1) No politics,
2) No profanity (we have a lot of lady and kid readers),
3) No porn (see number 2).
The ridiculous and completely unrelated political comments to this article have been and will continue to be nuked.
Supporters of the first impeached President to have a member of his own party vote to convict him, who gives the Medal of Honor to an open racist (the litany shall stop there…)should not have the right to support the team of Jackie Robinson. I DID NOT initiate this conversation. You, sir, are banished to Houston. I will let the other readers decide if the moniker chosen by the offending party is at all influenced by his political affilation. I will NOT continue this manner of expressing myself unless provoked by further statements from this or other treasonous sad excuses for Americans. Over and out…
Rush Limbaugh is a great American and has spoken out against the Democrats, the slave party, for many years. He is very deserving of the Medal of FREEDOM.
Lies LIEs LIES. UP is DOWN. WRONG is RIGHT. Impossible to be more “anti-American” than you sir. Jackie Robinson, who was a Repub. under Eisenhower in the 1950s, would undoubtedly shun the label today. He has exiled you to Houston.