After remaining under the luxury tax threshold for a second consecutive season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were expected to be involved with the top free agents of this winter’s class. That held true in terms of reported interest, but it ultimately didn’t pay dividends.
Stephen Strasburg re-signed with the Washington Nationals on the first day of the Winter Meetings, which was an outcome most anticipated even with the Dodgers’ potentially pursuing the right-hander.
The following day Gerrit Cole agreed to a record-breaking deal with the New York Yankees, accepting a nine-year contract in favor of offers from the Dodgers and L.A. Angels. Then on Wednesday, Anthony Rendon came to terms with the Angels.
Speaking after Cole’s decision but before Rendon’s agreement, manager Dave Roberts commended Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and the ownership group for their efforts in free agency despite the absence of success, via SportsNet LA:
“I’m just really proud of ownership and Andrew as far as putting our best foot forward. Ultimately, Gerrit chose to be in New York, and that’s just the way it is. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on our part. Like we said yesterday, we love our roster but we’re still trying to improve on the top end of our roster.”
More so than in recent years the Dodgers are the subject of intense criticism after a failure to make a splash in free agency. Some of that stems from Friedman asserting ownership had given him latitude to pursue the top players available on the open market, and Roberts describing the Dodgers’ approach as more aggressive than prior years.
“I just think that the conversations that we’ve had, and it’s clear, when you’re talking about the players that are available, it’s pretty clear how excited and eager our organization is about engaging, which we haven’t been as much in past with other free agents,” Roberts said this week.
“But I do think that Andrew, the front office, with Stan and Mark, there’s still a process to be responsible to win still right now but also to not compromise too much. I wouldn’t say at the forefront, but it’s somewhere in the front of our minds, but we’re being aggressive.”
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