Dodgers Interview: Andrew Friedman Talks Roster ahead of Wild Card
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman met reporters before Game 1 and explained to us which Dodgers landed on this Wild Card roster, and which ones will be watching the series from the bench. In making the decisions in concert with field boss Dave Roberts, Friedman kept the focus on fit, health, and the realities of a three-game sprint.
“Opponent factors in, the fact that there’s three games in this series, the fact that we have some starters who are in the bullpen that provide some length, all factors that weigh in,” he said when asked about difficult conversations with Michael Conforto and Anthony Banda. “Health of certain guys, where they’re at, another variable that factors in, and then inevitably you have tough conversations. No matter which direction we were going, we were going to have tough conversations.” He added a simple guiding line. “We have to do whatever we feel like gives us the best chance to win.”
Kiké Hernández’s role is part of that calculus. “We’ve all seen the level of focus and energy that Kiké brings, especially in October,” Friedman said. “He’s had a good little run here lately and feels like his swing’s in a better spot. His ability to slow things down and take what the pitcher gives, and then also add really good defense on top of it, is something that we felt really comfortable betting on.”
Will Smith’s status sharpened the decisions on the bench. “As far as being an option off the bench to hit, it all came down to very simple, has the bone in his hand healed or not,” Friedman said. “Last week he had a hard time gripping things and that progressively got better, and so it got to a good place where the bone had healed. Now it’s about getting strength back, and then it’s about throwing.” The club kept his base ready. “We were able to keep his legs going,” he said. “He hasn’t had that throwing volume in a little while and now we have to aggressively layer that on. But as far as him in the batter’s box, if there’s a big spot, we all felt really good about betting on Will.”
Tommy Edman’s ankle narrows the defensive map for now. “He kind of aggravated it last week in Arizona playing the outfield,” Friedman said. “He’ll do whatever, but I think for us the best chance to keep him going and strong right now is to limit the amount of movement in the outfield. Hopefully we get some days, it progressively gets better and opens that up, but right now we’re erring on the side of caution.”
The bullpen was a season-long storyline. Friedman framed it in baseball terms that every fan knows by heart. “They’ve had stretches of good, they’ve had some stretches where it’s been really tough and challenging,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s not a talent issue. Relievers, kind of like place kickers, are tightrope walkers. When the confidence is wavering, the execution is off. When the execution is off, you get behind and you come in zone and you’re more likely to take on damage.” He pointed to how quickly these things can turn. “Bullpen pieces are volatile. You see it year to year, but you also see it week to week,” he said. “All it needs is a little something to ignite it and to spark it. We still have a lot of confidence in a lot of those arms. Now it’s about figuring out the right game opportunities, score situations to get them in and keep building on that.”
Starting depth is the hedge in a short series. “We’re fortunate to have the starting depth that we have and for Emmet Sheehan and Glasnow to be options in this,” Friedman said. “The biggest downside of playing in a Wild Card Series, if you’re able to advance, is what your pitching looks like after that. That’s the cost. With our depth, that’s really mitigated.” He noted the security blanket every Dodger fan wanted to hear. “To have Clayton Kershaw standing there ready, no matter how we deploy our pitching this week, gets at the cost not being as great,” he said. “Obviously it’s a three-game series against a really good team. There’s a lot of risk to that. But if you could say, you definitely get out of this round, then I would argue it’s a good thing that we played these games.”
Max Muncy’s reset was timed for this week. “He’s in a good spot,” Friedman said. “He took live at-bats yesterday and felt really good. It’s not the same as a game situation, but we feel pretty good about where he’s at. The swings he took yesterday, you could see in the first at-bat a little apprehensive and he’s like, okay, feels good, I can trust it, and then he started getting way more aggressive with the swings.”
Friedman also took a beat to assess Hyeseong Kim’s first year in the organization. “Kim had a very good year,” he said. “It’s tough transitioning and meeting teammates in a whole new culture and his personality, his work ethic, his desire to be really good really stood out all year.” He sees the year as the start of something. “Hopefully we win 13 games, celebrate, and then it’ll be good this offseason to take everything that he learned this year and have a really good offseason to put him in position to come in and compete for a lot more playing time next year.”
Pressed again on those hard roster cuts, he returned to the human side without losing the edge. “As soon as a decision is made, having that conversation, being as honest and empathetic as we can,” he said. “Ultimately, we have to do whatever we feel like gives us the best chance to win.”
That is the through line into tonight. Length in the pen if the game tilts. Experience on the bench if a pinch hit turns an inning. “Opponent factors in,” Friedman said at the top, “and health of certain guys where they’re at.” The Dodgers built for that. The series starts now.
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