Less than one week after the Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated from the National League Division Series in their earliest postseason exit since 2015, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman reflected on the loss and looked ahead in the organization’s future.
Whether Friedman would be part of the Dodgers moving forward in some sense was a question itself. His five-year contract signed with the team is set to expire this month. Though, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten recently expressed absolute confidence a new deal would be reached.
“It’s something that I expect to be finalized in the next couple days,” Friedman said Monday. “At this point it’s just finalizing it.”
Under his direction the Dodgers have extended their streak of NL West titles to seven in a row, won at least 91 games in each of the past two seasons and set a franchise record with 106 wins this year, among other accomplishments.
Of course, Friedman and the Dodgers continue to face criticism over the club’s shortcomings in the postseason. The majority of that — particularly this year — has centered around manager Dave Roberts‘ decision-making in October.
Despite the Dodgers’ earlier-than-expected exit and mounting criticism against Roberts, he’s due to return as manager next season. Roberts signed a four-year contract last December.
“When the season ends as abruptly as it did — it’s one of the more painful losses that I can remember — the whole thing is focusing on how we get to winning those 11 games in October, and in our mind Dave is absolutely a part of that and is an additive part of doing that,” Friedman said.
“It’s taken days to get over the loss. I wanted to be in a better headspace to kind of think about it. I don’t know. I know going into the playoffs we definitely had a team talented enough to win the World Series.
“We didn’t do it, so for us we have to figure out what we can take away from that. Not to react just to react, but really look at ways we can get better and improve. I think that’s important for everybody in our clubhouse, in our front office, to do.”
With Roberts and Friedman set to return, the Dodgers will shift their focus to potential roster changes. Friedman touted the club’s depth and financial flexibility as having them in position to complete trades and signings that will assist the Dodgers in completing the 11-win sprint in October.
