The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a key member of their front office this offseason as general manager Farhan Zaidi left to become the president of baseball operations for the rival San Francisco Giants.
With the Dodgers coming off back-to-back World Series losses, that makes matters for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman a lot tougher this winter as he is currently without his right-hand man.
Friedman previously said the trio of Josh Byrnes, Brandon Gomes and Alex Slater would split the general manager duties for the time being as the Dodgers searched for a replacement.
It appears that Friedman is content with how things are right now though, as he said that because of how busy this winter has been, he will not hire a new general manager for the time being, via Pedro Moura of The Athletic:
The Dodgers will not hire a general manager this off-season, Andrew Friedman said. He described the last month-plus as “too chaotic” with staffing necessities to make that move.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) December 7, 2018
The Dodgers also lost a variety of different members of their coaching staff, so that was Friedman’s first order of business this offseason.
Instead of finding a new general manager, it makes sense for Friedman to shift his focus to the player side with the Winter Meetings just around the corner.
Among the Dodgers’ biggest needs that Friedman recently highlighted are catcher, with Yasmani Grandal expected to depart in free agency, both starting and relief pitching, and second base.
Once the roster starts to get in order for the 2019 season, Friedman may circle back and find a new general manager to replace Zaidi.
