What is Wrong With Andrew Friedman?

Not a Damn Thing! That’s what’s wrong. He is just failing to make any dope-fiend moves. Now, I want to give you a full disclaimer: It is possible that some of the dope-fiend moves made by other teams could have good short-term consequences (possible, but also not likely). I am not willing to pay off $300 million for 11 years for Freaking Trea Turner! But neither was Andrew Friedman. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander may each win the Cy Young… or have their arms fall off.

What do the following pitchers all have in common?

• Jacob deGrom
• Justin Verlander
• Max Scherzer
• Clayton Kershaw

All have won multiple Cy Young Awards. Verlander will be 40 next season. Scherzer will be 39, and deGrom and Kershaw will be 35. What are the odds all of them make 30 starts? I have to ask, what are the odds that any of them will make 30 starts? All of them are on multi-year deals of $37 to $43 Million a year. Clayton is getting $20 million. I’m OK with that. Clayton may get injured and not pitch a full season. I expect that, but when you are paying $37 to $43 Million Dollars a year for a pitcher, you expect him to be in the Cy Young conversation. I am ecstatic that Andrew Friedman did not sign deGrom, Verlander, or Scherzer.

I am extremely happy that the Dodgers are among the best teams EVERY YEAR-OVER-YEAR! To you Dodger Fans who would love to win one World Series and then suck for six or seven years, I say…

This is the best time EVER to be a Dodger, in my opinion. The Dodgers will make the playoffs next year, even if they stand pat. To me, that is really cool! Do nothing and still make the playoffs! However, Andrew Friedman has learned to assess the market and make moves in accordance (he is still getting better). Andrew is not going to overpay and saddle the Dodgers with a boat-anchor contract. The Phillies know that their time is now, and Dave Dombrowski will not even be there for the second half of Turner’s contract.

So, if the Dodgers make a big move… FINE! Swanson and Bogaerts are still possibilities, but I would not look for them to sign before Correa, and Correa is not coming to LA, in my opinion, as he is going to get the same kind of money Trea did.

Andrew Heaney allegedly has multiple three-year offers and is looking for a fourth. MLBTR says this:

Although shoulder issues limited the left hander’s participation in the Dodgers’ season, he was very impressive when he did make it onto the mound, tossing 75 innings of 3.10 ERA ball. A new slider allowed him to punch out batters at a staggering 35.5% rate while walking them just 6.1% of the time. The long ball was still an issue, but there’s plenty there to suggest Heaney can be an incredibly effective starting pitcher moving forward, and clearly a number of major league teams think the same.

Therein is the major problem facing most fans. They see what a player did in the past but have little grasp of how that translates to the future. Many fans did not want Heaney back, but lots of teams think he has a lot left. We shall see. Although the Dodgers don’t have an extreme need for starting pitching, they did rescue his career, and you can never have enough pitching. I think AF might give him a 4th year option.

We could see very little movement with this Dodger team. Allegedly JT has sparked a lot of interest, but I can’t see anyone offering him big dollars. They might bring him back at below $10 million on a one-year deal. I can see AF standing pat and assessing the market at the trade deadline. “Let’s see what the youngsters can do…”

Additionally, the Bryan Reynolds saga may not play out until mid-July of 2023. Good things come to those who wait! Right about now is no time for dope-fiend moves. Bellinger is still out there… just saying! But maybe AF is going to make good on letting the Farm System Depth take over… we shall see. Miguel Vargas is a ROY Candidate, and Gavin Stone is his counterpart in pitching. Mike Busch might be ready, as are Mike Grove and Ryan Pepiot, and at some juncture, Bobby Miller is going to become Bobby Miller. Andy Pages is a year away (most likely), and the MLB Rule 5 Draft will be held on Wednesday, and the Dodgers have a number of players who could be taken.

• Jose Ramos – Incredible upside could cause a second-tier team to stash him all season.
• Ryan Noda – Very likely to get picked.
• Devin Mann – I think he is gone. Maybe a good utilitymann (get it?).
• Adolfo Ramirez – I have not seen him, but I hear rumors.
• Justin Yurchak – A team like KC or Cincy might take a flier…
• Gus Varland – Really improved when moved to the bullpen.
• Ryan Ward – See Rtan Noda
• Hyun-il Choi – Missed 2022, but was the Dodgers Minor-League Pitcher of the Year in 2021.

Someone asked yesterday: Gavin Stone does not have to be on the 40-man and is not Rule 5 eligible. Most players taken in the Rule 5 Draft are very unlikely to stick on a 26-man roster, or by being placed on their team’s 40-man roster. But there are steals to be had! Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey, Shane Victorino, and Josh Hamilton were all Rule 5 Draft picks at one point. The Orioles grabbed Nestor Cortes from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft but returned him the following April. 

Jonathan Mayo has a great article on the Top 10 Rule 5 Picks of the last decade, HERE.

Back to the insanity…