Certainly, Andrew Friedman and Stan Kasten are two names that grab attention in Dodgers’ circles. Now, a storyline has emerged that is sure to get folks talking.
While Kasten says that negotiations with Friedman are ongoing and private, that is to be expected. Still – despite the privacy of negotiations – Bill Plunkett of the OC Register reports on the status of Friedman for 2020 and beyond.
Andrew Friedman signed a five-year contract with #Dodgers five years ago. In theory he could be a free agent this winter. In reality he probably isn’t going anywhere https://t.co/fmw6y8GcTb
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 19, 2019
Furthermore, it seems that Friedman’s successful tenure as the head man will continue. In fact, Kasten says that it’s a certainty.
When asked directly if he expects Friedman to return in his current position with the Dodgers in 2020, however, Kasten did offer a direct answer.
‘I am completely certain of that. Yes.’
Equally important, this would keep Friedman’s tenure running past five years when he began in 2014 as Dodgers’ president of baseball operations. Moreover, it shows good organizational health and stability when the same regime remains in charge long enough to have their vision take shape.
With that being said, the Dodgers are not seeing some ‘five-year plan’ play out says Kasten. That was never the expectation when Friedman was hired, just as there is no plan moving forward but to continue forging ahead with success.
“Oh, no. We wanted to be good right away. We were going to do as much as we could as fast as we could. Remember – when he came in, we had a really good team and a really good front office, coming off two division wins. We were trying to improve it and those improvements would be put in place as quickly as we could. There was never any 1-year, 2-year, 5-year thinking.”
Indeed, the Dodgers were good right away. And since that point they have been even better. The one missing piece from Friedman’s resume is a World Series victory. Within a few weeks, the team he assembled will have another opportunity to bring that credential to his ledger.
Finally, that team that will try to bring it home for Friedman will likely include 15 homegrown players; 13 of which were drafted by the Friedman regime.
