While all who follow the Los Angeles Dodgers wait to see what prize free agent gets the first big offer, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman spoke to the media.
Of note, Friedman brings about a few key points worth filing away for Dodgers fans. First off, Friedman tells Ken Gurnick of MLB.com among others that he sees Kenley Jansen as the closer. However, this bit of news does come with a caveat.
On the bullpen, Friedman said he views Kenley Jansen as the closer. But he wants to add an option for late in the game.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) December 10, 2019
Equally important, is that Friedman would like to add help in this area ‘as an option’ for late in the game. Indeed, it sounds like in a perfect world; the Dodgers would like to find a match in the form of a reliever who can close if need be.
Remember – when Joe Kelly signed with the Dodgers a year ago – incentives were added for games finished and helping out in a closer-type role.
Still, it sounds as though Friedman and his colleagues are in the hunt to find someone with a true closer’s make-up or a bit of versatility. For instance, the next tweet from Gurnick shows that Friedman sees the bullpen as a pressing need.
Andrew Friedman said the Dodgers’ only position of need that is “omnipresent” is the bullpen. He said there is flexibility regarding all other positions. He said there are about a dozen free agents the club has targeted, and expects talks this week will crystalize trade targets.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) December 10, 2019
Equally important, Friedman says that the Dodgers’ only true position of need is bullpen help. On one hand, this could be concerning. Already we have heard Friedman say through the media that the Dodgers are fine as they are constructed. Therefore, if the Dodgers miss out on all tier-one free agents and land a bullpen arm or two; he may figure the off-season a wide success.
In addition, Friedman says that there are around a dozen free agents the club has in their sites. Finally, he expects that the ongoing talks at the winter meetings in San Diego will ‘crystalize’ trade talks that eventually take place in the weeks to come.