There has been a lot of speculation as to why the Dodgers have not appointed a General Manager to take the place of their last GM – Farhan Zaidi. Some have speculated that it is because Andrew Friedman is an ego-manic who wants all the power. That explanation is too absurd to even warrant a response. I have also wondered why Friedman has not appointed a GM to take Zaidi’s place and I think I know the answer.
Andrew Friedman rarely does something without a reason and he rarely does not do something (such as appoint a GM) without a reason, also. Andrew Friedman is the President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers. Josh Byrnes is the Sr. Vice-President of Baseball Operations. One could make the argument that being a Sr. VP of Baseball OPs is a step above being a GM, but that is likely arguable.
After Byrnes, the Dodgers have two Vice-Presidents and Assistant General Managers (Jeffrey Kingston & Brandon Gomes), even though there is no General Manager. How can you be an assistant to the General Manager when there is no GM? Well, it is because that Andrew Friedman is “Acting GM.” So the Dodgers “technically” do have a GM. So, why is no one officially the GM? The answer is simple and amazingly genius.
It’s no secret that every off-season, other teams try and raid the Dodgers Front Office and Coaching Staff for talent. That’s how the Dodgers lost Zaidi, Woodward, and others. Andrew Friedman would like to keep Byrnes, Kingston, and Gomes, but the odds are, someone will offer one of them a GM position at some point in time. So, with the GM Position unoccupied, Friedman is free to offer it to Byrnes, Kingston, or Gomes should another team try and pry them from the Dodgers. Maybe he prefers one of them over the other two, so that could be a bargaining chip to keep one of the three… maybe two of the three (by moving one to a Sr. VP Role).
At any rate, the Dodgers Front Office is a lot more than Andrew Friedman. Andrew values consensus and dissent. The Core of the Braintrust of the Dodgers Front Office is, of course, Friedman, Byrnes, Kingston, and Gomes, but it also includes David Finley, Ismael Cruz, Billy Gasparino, Galen Carr, Will Rhymes, and advisors like Chase Utley, Pat Corrales, Ron Roenicke, Joel Peralta, Ralph Avila, Jose Vizcaino, and David Hill, who is “Principal Research Scientist.”
That’s a lot of brainpower in one room! Long term, the Dodgers probably won’t be able to keep them all, but they are doing a good job so far. Bob Geren and Clayton McCullough have both been linked to the Mets Manager’s job and it is still possible one of them may be gone. In case you have never looked at the List of the Dodger Braintrust, here it is:
President, Baseball Operations: Andrew Friedman
Sr. Vice President, Baseball Operations: Josh Byrnes
Vice President & Assistant General Manager: Jeffrey Kingston
Vice President & Assistant General Manager: Brandon Gomes
Vice President, Scouting: David Finley
Vice President, International Scouting: Ismael Cruz
Vice President, Amateur Scouting: Billy Gasparino
Vice President, Player Personnel: Galen Carr
Sr. Director, Baseball Administration: Ellen Harrigan
Sr. Director, Team Travel: Scott Akasaki
Director, Baseball Operations: Alex Slater
Director, Player Development: William Rhymes
Director, Minor League Player Performance: Brian Stoneberg
Director, Baseball Resources: Duncan Webb
Director, Baseball Strategy: Michael Voltmer
Director, Baseball Systems Applications: Brian McBurney
Director, Baseball Systems Platform: John Focht
Director, Performance Science: Megan Schroeder
Director, Quantitative Analysis: Scott Powers
Director, Specialized Performance Programs: Eric Potterat
Director, Clubhouse Operations: Alex Torres
Assistant Director, Player Development: Matt McGrath
Assistant Director, Amateur Scouting: Zachary Fitzpatrick
Special Assistant to the President: Chase Utley
Special Assistant to the GM: Pat Corrales
Special Assistant, Scouting: Thomas Allison
Special Assistant to the GM: Ron Roenicke
Special Assistant, Baseball Operations: Joel Peralta
Special Instructor, Infield : Jose Vizcaino
Principal Research Scientist: David Hill
Senior Developer II, Baseball Systems: Jonathan Funkhouser
Senior Analyst, Baseball Operations: Craig Weinhaus
Senior Scouting Advisor, Dominican Republic: Ralph Avila
Manager, Baseball Operations: Ethan Levitt
Manager, Player Development: Andrea LaPointe
Manager, Minor League Administration: Adriana Urzua
Manager, International Scouting: Javier Camps
Manager, Professional Scouting: Lucas Geoghegan
Manager, Amateur Scouting: Jalen Phillips
Manager, Visiting Clubhouse: Mitch Poole
Manager, Umpires Clubhouse: Jerry Turner
Assistant Manager, Clubhouse: Jose Castillo
Coordinator, Minor League Field: Clayton McCullough
Coordinator, Strong Mind Program: AJ LaLonde
Cultural Coordinator, Strong Mind: Leo Ruiz
Coordinator, Minor League Medical: Kevin Orloski
Coordinator, Baseball Contracts & Finance: Albert Gilbert
Coordinator, Major League Video/Replay: Jonathan Rhymes
Coordinator, Performance Operations: Will Ireton
Interpreter: Brian Tobin
Coordinator, Performance Science: Tyler Duncan
Sr. Data Engineer, Baseball Systems: Drew Troxell
Sr. Developer, Baseball Systems: Ryan Casey
Sr. Quantitative Analyst: Nicholas Kapur
Sr. Quantitative Analyst: Jacob Coleman
Developer, Performance Science Applications: Timothy Reen
Sr. Analyst, Performance Science: Jason Gilberg
Sr. Quantitative Analyst: Max Weinstein
Biomechanical Quantitative Sr. Analyst: Emilee Fragapane
Quantitative Analyst: Justin Williams
Quantitative Research Engineer: Yuji Akimoto
Jr. Quantitative Analyst: Grace Peng
Junior Quantitative Analyst: Morgan Abbitt
Biomechanical Quantitative Analyst: Theodore Vandenberg
Senior Research Scientist: Theodore Williams
Analyst, Baseball Operations: Pat O’Shea
Analyst, Baseball Operations: Sam Elias
Jr. Developer Baseball Systems: Alex Arriola
Junior Developer: Riley Wartenberg
Assistant, Player Development: MacLeod Lozer
Assistant, Player Development: James Weilbrenner
Assistant, Baseball Operations: Mark Kozhaya
It is an impressive bunch and we can rest assured that some other organizations will “poach” some of this talent. It’s the Dodger Way.
By the way, the cover photo is Jeff Kingston.
Mike Nesmith was a talented guy. The Monkees, of course, were kind of destined to be mocked–perhaps even designed to be mocked. Peter Tork had me wearing my belt buckle off-kilter when I was in the 5th grade, because I was cool too. But I remember my surprised learning that Nesmith actually wrote Linda Ronstadt’s first great hit, when she fronted the Stone Poneys.
Pardon my cut and paste to honor a Monkee:
You and I travel to the beat of a different drum
Oh, can’t you tell by the way I run
Every time you make eyes at me? Whoa
You cry and moan and say it will work out
But honey child I’ve got my doubts
You can’t see the forest for the trees
So, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I knock it
It’s just that I am not in the market
For a boy who wants to love only me
Yes, and I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty
All I’m saying’s I’m not ready for any person
Place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me, so
Goodbye, I’ll be leavin’
I see no sense in this cryin’ and grievin’
We’ll both live a lot longer if you live without me
So, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I knock it
It’s just that I am not in the market
For a boy who wants to love only me
Yes, and I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty
All I’m saying’s I’m not ready for any person
Place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me, so
Goodbye, I’ll be leavin’
I see no sense in this cryin’ and grievin’
We’ll both live a lot longer if you live without me
Seriously good stuff, so thanks Mike. (And I think he was a producer on the film “Repo Man,” which was awesome too.)
And as for the Dodgers, it’s kind of amazing seeing all those names and titles of the front office people. (Is there an opening in the Strong Mind program?)
But as the off-season meanders in labor limbo, I have to say the idea of Freddie Freeman at 1B is growing on me, especially if there is indeed a DH. Just imagine:
Betts RF
Muncy DH
T. Turner SS
Freeman 1B
J. Turner 3B
C. Bellinger CF
Smith C
Pollock RF
Lux/Taylor 2B
Yeah, that might work out fine.
Freddie Freeman would be a great sign ,a left handed bat and take some of the sting away from losing Seager. Cheaper at six years @ $180 million. It’s not my money. Go for it AF!!!!
They could go for brothers.
Mark:
Please excuse me for being off target but I wanted to share my joy with everybody here. For the last 70 years(1951-2001) except when I was overseas with the Army(1962-1964) I enjoy watching a Christmas favorite of mine.
The 1951 film is called A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim who plays Scrooge. For those who have never seen it it a wonderous film. I have seen probably all the Scrooge films but this 1951 film tops all of them IMHO. On a scale of 1-10 rate it as an 11.
It’s the only film that made me laugh and towards the end brought tears to my eyes. I just thought it may be interesting to some here. I believe the film was broadcast by TCM( Turner Classic Movies) and was filmed in England.
Hey, no excuse needed. Thanks for sharing, Richie!
Richie I also think it is the best adaptation on film of the story. Sim is so good in that role. I feel the same way about Miracle on 34th Street. No actor made as good a Santa Claus as Edmund Gwynn in any of the other adaptations of that story. Gwynn was also in one of my all time favorite giant monster films, Them, with James Arness and James Whitmore. Reginald Owen who played Scrooge in the early 30’s version was good, but no where near Sim. I have a channel on my ROKU that I pay 3 dollars a month for and it is well worth it, Classic Reels, all old movies with no commercials. They added about 40 holiday shows on the 1st of December, and the Sim’s version of A Christmas Carol was one of them.
Hey, what’s in a title? Plenty of talented front office people leading the Dodgers. So far, so good.
Remember when just about everybody claimed Andrew Friedman would never give out a big contract?
Now everybody is trying to figure out where the Dodgers are going from here. All on pause, of course. All this could be solved if the owners and players would just go with Ken Rosenthal’s proposals. I thought they made sense.
I want to get back to seeing how Friedman and company structure the new roster, minus Corey Seager and whoever else will be missing in 2022.
Now we know the Dodgers didn’t come close to matching the Rangers $325 million for Seager. How many days left until Texas regrets the signing? There is usually regret, almost always regret. Unless the Rangers find a way to come up with young inexpensive pitchers, where do they go from here? Remember how the Rockies signed Nolan Arenado, a year later there were regrets, all in public.
Hopefully the Dodgers figure all this out and when this negotiation nonsense comes to a close and actual baseball resumes, some of the questions that are lingering will be answered.
Are the Dodgers actually serious about Freddie Freeman? Will the Braves let him get away? Will Clayton Kershaw return? How will the rotation look come spring? Is there a big trade to be made? Friedman indicated there were some good trades out there, a few teams looking to move talent for prospects. Will it be the Giants or the Padres that prove the biggest challenge in 2022? Maybe both. Will the Dodgers offer Trea Turner a big extension in spring? I would. Turner is one of the reasons to watch the team, excitement and all.
Will Gomes be named GM?
A nice tribute to Mike Nesmith.
If I had to guess:
2022:
1B Freeman
2B Muncy (if they leave him there he will be absolutely above average defensively)
SS T-Turner
3B J-Turner/Rios
LF Pollock
CF Bellinger
RF Betts
C Smith
DH JT/Lux/Rios/CT3
What about CT3?
He’s going to replace Roger the Peanut Man who should just about be ready to retire.
He is in his late 70’s. 2020 is the only season he has ever missed. The guy is a Dodger Stadium institution.
Never mind, we can let Roger go until he’s 90 but I think we need a utility peanut thrower. Roger is right handed. Aren’t you left handed? The job is yours!
Nationals signed Maikel Franco to a minor league deal. They signed Dee Gordon yesterday to the same.
instant replay in football sucks
a catch is a catch
Neither Dodger coach made it to the second round of Mets interviews. Finalists are Showalter, Quatraro and Espada.
That is because Steve Cohen is really dumb when it comes to baseball.
I am glad.
Clayton McCullough is better than them all.
I can see Clayton becoming the next Dodger manager!
4 kids says otherwise.