Dodgers: Whatever He Does, Andrew Friedman Has the Trust of the Players

Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor isn't frustrated with L.A.'s slow offseason because he trusts the front office and what they're trying to do.

The Dodgers have had a frustratingly slow offseason, losing Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Tyler Anderson, Tommy Kahnle, Chris Martin, and others in free agency while bringing in Noah Syndergaard, JD Martinez, and some lesser names. Meanwhile, their division rivals the Giants and Padres have made additions to improve their teams, as have potential postseason opponents in the Mets, Phillies, and others.

Los Angeles utilityman Chris Taylor has watched some of his friends depart for new teams, and while it's hard to see them go, he's not frustrated with L.A.'s president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman or general manager Brandon Gomes, as he told Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation on Friday.

“We know those guys always have one goal in mind and that’s to win a World Series and that’s the same as us. So, we trust that those guys are going to put us in a position to do that, and they’re going to make the moves necessary to do that. And if they don’t make the moves, it’s because they believe in the guys we have. And I think that’s been the case this offseason is they’re like, we have one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball, and it’s time to utilize that."

Miguel Vargas tore up Triple-A pitching last year, and while he got a cup of coffee with L.A. late in the season, he wasn't able to get regular at-bats because of the star-studded lineup. James Outman posted a 1.409 OPS in his four games with the big-league club in 2022, and his reward was being sent back to Triple-A. Taylor is excited to see guys like that get a chance to prove themselves at the big-league level.

“I think a lot of our guys that have been in Triple-A, or even some of the guys that have been in the big leagues but up-and-down or coming off the bench and not playing as much, if they were on other teams, I truly believe they’d be superstar players, and they just haven’t gotten that opportunity.”

Los Angeles has been in the postseason each of the last ten years, winning the NL West in nine of those years and winning 106 games the one time they didn't win the division. Last year, they won 111 games in the regular season before being bounced in the NLDS.

The 2023 Dodgers probably won't win 111 games, and they might not even win 100. There's more volatility giving multiple young players significant playing time, but they're not punting this season. They'll still have a very good chance to win the division, and letting some of their young players play will hopefully set them up for sustained success in the future.