Why Andrew Friedman’s October test is looming with Dodgers

San Francisco – The “Dodgers ruins Baseball” speech which dominated last winter included calls for a salary ceiling for owners of Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Pirates of Pittsburgh.

Congratulations, gentlemen, your teams are in the last place. For you, Dodgers are a practical scapegoat.

But the speech also included this taking of the owner of the New York Yankees: “It is difficult for most of us that the owners do the kind of thing they do,” Hal Steinbrenner told Network Yes. “We will see if it is paying.”

So far, he has not paid.

The Dodgers will make the playoffs, but the collection of players they bought to fortify their defense of the title of World Series are far from expectations.

What is happening in October could determine if the expenses that care that the rival owners so annoyed could instead remember as being terrible, horrible, not good, very bad of Andrew Friedman.

Tanner Scott was held in front of his locker on Friday evening, at the last low point in a miserable season. He had just given up a large slam winning a recipient of good field which worked to the stick plate .217.

Scott, the $ 72 million in Dodgers, has an average managed 5.01. He launched half of the rounds that Clayton Kershaw and granted four other circuits.

“It’s terrible,” said Scott. “I have the worst year of my life. I must be better. “

It’s not just him. Overall, the Dodgers signature class from 2024-25 must be better.

After spending a billion dollars in the winter of 2023-24, the Dodgers dropped a recall worth half a billion in the rest of the league last winter.

Out of 11 key players who have signed new contracts to stay with dodgers or free agent contracts to join them, none has a war of 2, according to Baseball-reference.com. The angels last winter signed two free agents with a higher war than any of these signatories Dodgers: the launcher leaving Yusei Kikuchi and Kenley Jansen closer.

The Dodgers are getting closer to Tanner Scott, in the foreground, looks at a big slam at the idea of ​​a match struck by the Giants of the Giants Bailey (background).

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

Friedman, the president of the Dodgers baseball operations, respectfully refused to review his offseason.

“We will wait after the season,” he said. “All that we are focusing on is these next games and October.”

The most precious winter signatories by war, according to Baseball-reference.com: Hyeseong Kim, that the Dodgers bounced at ease between the inner field and the outside field, between the initial formation and the bench, between the major leagues and the minor leagues.

Then comes Kershaw, who should exceed 100 rounds on Saturday. The only Dodgers launcher to launch more sleeves: Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

When Friedman said he believed in his players, it was not only a compulsory quote. He really did it. He believed so much in them that the only additions of dodgers to the deadline for trade were a rescue outfall and a man of configuration.

Beyond Kershaw, the signs of pitching of Dodgers included Scott, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates. It is difficult to imagine the dodgers, including all on a list of playoffs, and not only because Sasaki always returns after an injury.

“From the point of view of pitching, we have a very realistic chance to have the most talented 13 -year -old pitch staff that we have ever had,” said Friedman. “We felt this in July, coupled with that that we were most likely – well, let’s hope it – be able to have difficult conversations with guys who have a legitimate chance of doing it, but would not do it.”

He doesn’t like what 13 launchers he had in mind, and in all honesty who could change with the next injury.

“You could take any collection from it,” said Friedman. “I just say that when we submit our list of qualifiers, I think these 13 arms will be the most talented – things, an execution, a talent, different looks, on the right. I just think it will be the deepest and the best staff we have had. ”

Beyond Kim, the signatories of the players in the position of the Dodgers included the inner field player Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández and the championships-champs Michael Comforto and Teoscar Hernández.

Edman and Kiké Hernández spent much of the season on the injured list. Teoscar Hernández fell from a player of 4 The war last year – when his one year contract seemed brilliant – to a war player this year.

Comforto dominated Friday for the Dodgers race. However, out of the 191 players with at least 400 appearances of plates entering the game on Friday, he had the lowest war.

“On the side of the position player, our with and without [Max] Muncy’s numbers are crazy, “said Friedman.” It is an integral part of our alignment. But, even with that, the level of our offensive performance for two months is something that I would have said would have been an impossibility, even with an injury here or an injury there. What I did not think possible was very possible and played.

The third goal of the Dodgers, Max Muncy, reacts after being touched by land during the eighth round on Friday.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

“With hindsight, it has contributed to the situation in which we are at the moment, and to difficulties. I always look to the future and I see the names in programming, and depth, and I feel really good on this subject. We will therefore know if it’s right or not.”

During Muncy’s first passage on the list of injured this season, the Dodgers ranked last in the rounds in runs. During its second passage, they ranked at the end of the National League.

This did not feel well for the dodgers when Muncy was forced from the Friday match after a throw hit him on the forearm. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the radiographs were negative, and the team will see how it is on Saturday.

Friedman gathered a championship list last year, his second in five years, so maybe last winter will count as a dear Blip.

Or, maybe, not even that.

Dodgers have October as part of their schedule. They have not missed the playoffs for 13 years. Under Friedman, they advanced to the World Series with a team of 92 victories and failed to get out of the first round with a team of 111 victories.

October is what matters, no matter how much a player could have occurred in the regular season.

Among the dodgers who launched at least 60 rounds last season, the one with the highest average won made the last launch of the year. Of all the things that Los Angeles remembers Walker Buehler last year, his ERA of 5.38 is not one of them.