LOS ANGELES — Andrew Friedman has thoroughly overhauled a 94-win team in his first two months running the Los Angeles Dodgers. None of his myriad moves made a bigger, more baffling splash than his trade of popular slugger Matt Kemp and $32 million to a division rival for what might be no more than half of a catching platoon.
When Friedman is reminded he'll be loathed in his new town if Kemp's curious departure doesn't lead to World Series success in L.A., the new president of baseball operations replies with a laugh.
"Not any more than we'll hate ourselves," Friedman said.
Friedman formed a master plan for deconstructing the Dodgers when he left parsimonious Tampa Bay to take over the highest-spending team in baseball, and his front office has been quick to implement it this winter. He has already made ample use of the Dodgers' seemingly bottomless financial resources, committing tens of millions just to get unwanted players out of town.
He might not know how his moves worked until next fall, but Friedman is confident about what will be left when the dust settles in Chavez Ravine on what he called "a frenetic offseason."
"Our overarching goal coming into the offseason was to take a very strong collective of players and do our best to mold them into a highly functioning baseball team," Friedman said, referring to the disparate Dodgers roster that didn't always jell last season. "We feel like these moves speak to that, and we're excited about the way our position group fits together, how they complement one another."
Since Friedman took over from Ned Colletti, Los Angeles has parted ways with Kemp, speedster Dee Gordon, hard-hitting Hanley Ramirez, fourth starter Dan Haren and expensive reliever Brian Wilson. The Dodgers have a new double-play combination in Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins, new catcher Yasmani Grandal, right-hander Brandon McCarthy and a grab-bag of new relievers in their place, stabilizing the Dodgers' defense and addressing several possible problems from the plate to the clubhouse.
When looking at the team that lost to St. Louis in the division series last October, many Dodgers fans saw the NL West champions as a sports car in need of a polish and a tuneup. Friedman put the Dodgers on blocks and ripped out several key components, determined to get more speed and performance out of an awfully expensive machine.