Dodgers News: Andrew Friedman Has Hilarious Response When Asked About Shohei Ohtani Interest
Dodgers front office executive Andrew Friedman fielded several questions from media members in his end-of-year press conference on Tuesday.
LA's top man for baseball operations talked about a disappointing end to the 2023 season but also looked forward to this winter for some possible changes on the team.
One of the most anticipated free agents in baseball history will certainly be on Friedman's mind even if his most recent answer on pursuing Shohei Ohtani doesn't reflect his true thoughts.
“Who?" Friedman said with a laugh. "Obviously we can’t talk about free agents or impending free agents. But, from our standpoint what has been our mindset, and the great fortune that our ownership has provided us to be aggressive, to go out and put the best team on the field that we can."
It sounds like Friedman is trying to avoid a tampering charge much more common in the NBA but Dodgers fans shouldn't be worried about his initial dodge of the Ohtani question.
LA's massive media market, consistent winning culture and strong Japanese fan base presence will all be attractive draws for possibly the greatest baseball player the game has ever seen.
The 2023 NLDS showing won't exactly inspire confidence after everything but the bullpen fell apart for the Boys in Blue and Friedman is moving quickly to erase that memory.
It's hard to argue with the team's regular season success over the past decade and change after 10 division titles in 11 seasons under the current ownership group.
The Dodgers' postseason shortcomings won't all be fixed thanks to this year's WBC MVP especially because he can't pitch until 2025.
Still, just Ohtani's hitting prowess would attract much attention to their lineup which sorely needs some consistency after another short playoff run.
