The Los Angeles Dodgers went three seasons without a designated general manager after the San Francisco Giants hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations. It wasn’t until this week that the Dodgers filled the vacancy by promoting Brandon Gomes to general manager.
“I’m really excited to be here today to introduce Brandon Gomes as the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
“I’ve known Brandon for over 10 years and have been consistently impressed with the way his mind works, his ability to connect with people, and working with Brandon as a player and now with the Dodgers, has made me better at my job by the way he sees the world with his overall level of curiosity and thoughtfulness.
“In Brandon’s time with the Dodgers, he has made an incredible impact through his natural leadership qualities, his on-field experience and his overall feel for the game. So those were some of the reasons why we felt like this was an obvious and natural progression.”
Friedman had already relied on Gomes, along with Josh Byrnes and Jeff Kingston to split duties of a GM. “It’s always been something that’s been on our mind, obviously, since 2019,” Friedman said of going multiple seasons without the role being filled.
“We just weren’t in a rush to do it and we wanted to make sure to get it right. In the three years, I’ve continued to work with an extremely talented group of people and a great team, that feel like that overall vibe and camaraderie was really strong.
“But for us, this was something that with Brandon and what he’s continued to display on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis, made this a natural progression for him.”
Gomes has been on nothing short of a remarkable rise since last pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays during the 2015 season. “I agree that is has been a quick ascension,” Friedman acknowledged. “I think I could argue that it could have been quicker.
“I think just his ability to connect with people and then what stems from that. How curious he was as a player, how curious he is now in this role and his natural leadership qualities. You take all of that together and I think it’s a pretty rare executive profile.
“The relationships he’s been able to forge here, the impact he’s made, we felt like this was kind of the natural progression for him and we’re extremely confident he will thrive and excel in this new role.”
Gomes appreciative of Dodgers
While Friedman was effusive of Gomes, the Dodgers’ GM has been equally impressed by the organization since first joining as a pitching coordinator of performance in November 2016.
“From Day 1 of joining the organization, I was incredibly impressed with just the quality of person,” Gomes said.
“Just being able to work with people who are so passionate and talented, having the opportunity to stay here, love it here. Getting the chance to put down roots and continuing to work with Andrew and the rest of the incredibly talented group is the absolute ideal situation. I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
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