Diamondbacks Pitcher Shares Theory on What Motivated Andrew Friedman in Free Agency

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to be the talk of baseball, whether it's Pete Crow-Armstrong having a negative opinion of their fanbase, or Jazz Chisholm Jr. not wanting to join a juggernaut, and now Paul Sewald sharing a measured view of the team's success.

Sewald is entering a third career season with the Arizona Diamondbacks after returning to the team on a one-year contract. The veteran closer previously was with the Diamondbacks during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Sewald has firsthand experience in upsetting a heavily-favored Dodgers team, as the Diamondbacks pulled off a sweep in the National League Division Series in 2023.

He cited that example as one reason why it can't be assumed the Dodgers are guaranteed to three-peat, and Sewald further believes president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was motivated by narrowly losing in the World Series last year, via "Foul Territory."

"Three years in baseball feels like an eternity, right? You're almost like, 'Ah, I forgot about that World Series.' And you're talking about, literally, just two seasons ago.

"They were one strike away from the Blue Jays winning last year, and I thought the Padres were better than them in '24, when we played them back-to-back at the end of the year.

"They were on the ropes, and they made the pitches and made the plays when they had to at the end to win back-to-back World Series. But that margin for error is razor thin.

"So for people to think this is a foregone conclusion, Andrew Friedman obviously thought that they needed to improve. That's why he signed Kyle Tucker, that's why he signed Edwin Díaz. He felt like, 'I've got to make sure I improve the team, or the rest of the league is catching up to us.'

"People just like to complain about things on the internet. That's more what it is than anything. People just like to complain about things. They're in our division, so certainly they're going to be a challenge for us. But '23 showed more than anything, they were maybe the best team in the league, and in a small sample size like a postseason, you just never know what's going to happen.

"That's why we're going to play the games this year. We're not going to use PECOTA standings to decide the World Series champion. We're going to go out there and play 162 and hopefully we get a couple playoff games."

While much of the focus has been placed on the end result of the last two seasons, Sewald's stance has plenty of merit.

In 2024, the Dodgers trailed the San Diego Padres in the NLDS and needed to rely on a bullpen game to avoid elimination at Petco Park. Not only did they win the NLDS in five games, but the Dodgers went on to heavily rely upon their relief pitchers that entire October run because of running short on starters.

Last year required the Dodgers to start their postseason run in the Wild Card Series and then begin both the NLDS and NL Championship Series without home-field advantage. The Toronto Blue Jays also held the home-field edge in the World Series and were on the verge of winning Games 6 and 7, either of which would have prevented the Dodgers from going back-to-back.

Dodgers unfairly blamed

Despite recent praise from Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, and Padres teammates Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., the Dodgers widely are being painted as a villain.

As such, their spending is being used as reason an MLB salary cap is needed. In reality, team owners are merely looking for any excuse to limit player salaries and further line their own pockets.