The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a key member of their front office this offseason as general manager Farhan Zaidi was hired to be the president of baseball operations of the rival San Francisco Giants.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has not yet hired a replacement, or even said if the plan is to hire one person to be the club’s new general manager.
Friedman did say the trio of senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes, farm director Brandon Gomes and director of development and scouting Alex Slater are assuming expanded roles for the time being.
Byrnes has prior experience as a GM but Friedman explained that while he’s qualified for the role, removing Byrnes from his current post may not be in the best interest of the organization, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
Friedman noted Byrnes’ comfort with a role aiding the team’s scouting apparatus and player-development machine. “Those are two areas that are really highly functioning, performing at very high levels, that he is a big part of,” Friedman said. “So I’m not sure if that makes sense. But obviously, he’s been a big part of what we’ve done, and will continue to be.”
Byrnes has been a member of the Dodgers’ front office since Friedman took over after the 2014 season, so he is very familiar with the roles that Zaidi vacated.
Additionally, he was general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2005-10 and the San Diego Padres from 2010-14.
The Dodgers also have a number of coaching vacancies to fill, which Friedman said should be taken care of in the next week. He has not given a timetable for a permanent plan for the front office opening.
