For years several clubs unsuccessfully attempted to pry Andrew Friedman out of the Tampa Bay Rays front office. The Los Angeles Dodgers changed that in October 2014 when they hired Friedman for the newly-created president of baseball operations position.
Renowned for doing more with less, the possibilities seemed endless given the Dodgers’ deep pockets, rich tradition, and desire to win. While his time thus far in Los Angeles hasn’t been all smooth sailing, Friedman’s ideals have the club in a strong position moving forward.
As for this season, Friedman has said the Dodgers will target ‘elite-level players’ at the trade deadline and is confident his team will play a significant role in trade talks given their depth and strong farm system.
The Dodgers were recently linked to Rays starting pitchers Chris Archer and Matt Moore, though a deal didn’t appear imminent. According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, one Rays official doesn’t believe Friedman potentially completing a trade with his former team is affected by his previous ties to the Tampa Bay organization:
As for the possibility of dealing with Friedman, one senior Rays official said the Friedman link makes it “no more or less likely to line up on a trade” with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers were also once said to have interest in Tampa Bay reliever Erasmo Ramirez. That appeared to subside when they acquired Bud Norris in a five-player trade with the Atlanta Braves.
Dealing with the Rays wouldn’t be anything new for Friedman as he sent Jose Dominguez and Greg Harris to Tampa Bay in exchange for Adam Liberatore and Joel Peralta. The veteran Peralta played a key role for the Dodgers last season, while Liberatore has been one of their better relievers in 2016.
