The Los Angeles Dodgers are known for having Hollywood stars attend games at Dodger Stadium, and even being on hand for numerous charity events hosted by players and the team’s foundation.
Country music star Brad Paisley is one of the more well-known die-hard Dodgers fans, and he’s even sung at one of Clayton Kershaw’s charity events. He’s also been a key player in being an intermediary for the front office and providing them with a place to negotiate with other teams.
As the Dodgers looked to acquire top of the rotation help, Paisley assisted president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman in subtle ways in the deal for Tyler Glasnow with the Tampa Bay Rays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:
After talking with Dodgers officials, including some former Tampa Bay colleagues, for weeks — including at country singer Brad Paisley’s 100-acre farm during the recent winter meetings in Nashville — the Rays locked in a few days ago on what they felt was their best deal.
A holdup over a contract extension between the Dodgers and Glasnow was a hitch, and Friedman being able to juggle their Shohei Ohtani pursuit didn’t cloud their position on adding the right-hander. The two teams were said to have had a great deal of dialogue in formulating the swap:
Neander said the deal started to take shape the week before the winter meetings. An opportunity for additional conversation arose when the Rays were invited to join Los Angeles team officials for a social event hosted by Paisley, a Dodgers diehard.
“Brad made it clear he was a Tyler fan,” Neander said. “We made sure to use that as much as we could. Got to pull out all the stops to get something like this done.”
The Dodgers and Rays agreed on a trade that would send Glasnow and Manuel Margot out West, while Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca headed to Tampa Bay. The Rays included $4 million in the deal, contingent on Margot’s option for 2025.
Glasnow signed a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension that reportedly included converting a portion of his 2024 salary into a signing bonus.
Brad Paisley hosted Dodgers front office during Winter Meetings
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts caused a bit of a media stir after revealing some insight into their pursuit of Ohtani.
Details including when and where they met, while giving a strong endorsement of the superstar, created some backlash against the skipper. Shortly following the conclusion of his interview on MLB Network, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes admitted he wasn’t sure if his manager’s comments would impact their chances at signing Ohtani.
The Dodgers reportedly were invited to join Roberts at Paisley’s farm to smooth things over.
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