Dodgers News: Andrew Friedman Talks About Position He Hates Trading For
Besides a certified superstar, trading for a quality reliever is a challenging endeavor for baseball executives. In the past few seasons, the Dodgers have enjoyed plenty of success trading for fringe arms that they can transform with their coaching staff and front office team. From what it sounds like, that's the plan once again this season.
Relievers, unlike starters, or position players, can be great one season, and a disaster the next. Which makes it all that more risky to shell out major trade capital for a player that's great right now, but has no guarantee of repeating the success the following season.
Team president Andrew Friedman is well aware of the fickle nature of trading for relievers. In a recent interview with The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, Friedman talked about the trade market and why he loathes paying up for relievers.
“I hate trading for relievers at the deadline. It’s my least favorite thing to do. The acquisition cost is totally out of whack. So I like to avoid it as much as possible.”
Friedman has built his name on identifying pitchers, mainly reclamation projects, that are undervalued. To his point, relievers are typically overvalued at the trade deadline because each and every contender wants to buttress their bullpen.
Based on his comments, the Dodgers will be relying on the likes of Yency Almonte and Evan Phillips to continue to exceed expectations. The team is also hoping to get go-to right-handed reliever Blake Treinen back sometime after the All-Star break.
