DODGERS The FRONT OFFICE (NERDS) Thread

a little transition?
fuck you!!!
you allowed your nl west rivals to get better while you got worse
prospects, great
but either develop them or ship them out
because i don't see them helping the cause in 2016

Zaidi says club is going through a little transition
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 1 hour ago

While the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached the postseason in each of the past three seasons, they’ve yet to advance beyond the National League Championship Series.

After reaching the NLCS in 2013, the Dodgers have been bounced from the NL Division Series in back-to-back seasons.

This offseason has brought plenty of change, with Don Mattingly and the Dodgers mutually agreeing to part ways, wholesale changes to the coaching staff, and Zack Greinke bolting for Arizona.

Greinke’s surprising decision to sign with the Diamondbacks has left the Dodgers reeling a bit in their quest to replace the right-hander.

Failed pursuits of Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija followed, and an agreement with Hisashi Iwakuma fell apart due to a failed physical. As a result, some pundits suddenly view the Dodgers as the third-best team in the NL West.

Despite the doubt that’s been cast on the Dodgers, general manager Farhan Zaidi remains confident while acknowledging the club is going through a transition, via Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

“We are trying to be as good as we can be, and if we play up to expectations that will not be an issue,” Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said recently. “Meanwhile, we are undergoing a little transition in which we are trying to get more good prospects into our system.”​

Los Angeles recently added to their prospect pool by acquiring Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson in a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has aggressively amassed draft picks and prospects in trades since joining the organization last October; resorting to creative measures to do so when necessary.

Of course, there’s the likelihood the Dodgers will utilize the prospects they’ve added and developed in a trade to land a frontline starting pitcher.

Winning in the years ahead has very much been part of the conversation, just as the Dodgers ending their 27-year World Series drought next season has. In losing Greinke the Dodgers receive a compensatory pick slotted between the first and second rounds of the 2016 draft.

Los Angeles will receive another pick if or when Howie Kendrick signs, assuming it is not with the Dodgers.​

 

the force is strong with this one...

Zaidi believes competitive team will ease fan’s concerns
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 10 minutes ago



Winners of three consecutive National League West titles, many believe the Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen behind division rivals Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.

Arizona shockingly signed Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million contract, then followed it by trading for young right-hander Shelby Miller.

San Francisco signed Jeff Samardzija and nine days later added Johnny Cueto to their pitching staff. Meanwhile, Los Angeles was making headlines for their failed acquisitions.

A trade for Aroldis Chapman fell apart amid allegations of his involvement in a domestic violence dispute, and the same occurred with an agreement to sign Hisashi Iwakuma after the right-hander failed his physical.

Chapman has since been traded to the New York Yankees, and Iwakuma re-signed with the Seattle Mariners. Naturally, the Dodgers front office has faced plenty of criticism this offseason.

The scrutiny is something Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten believes comes with the territory, (he) expects to receive, and is comfortable facing.

As for whether signing Scott Kazmir is enough to satisfy the fan base for the time being, general manager Farhan Zaidi believes a competitive team come the regular season will lay the concern to rest, via Bill Shaikin of the LA Times:

“I think our fans are ultimately going to respond and react to how the team plays once April rolls around and the games actually count in the standings,” he said. “I think, as long as we build a good and competitive team, the fans will be happy.”​

Despite the hurdles faced in recent weeks, ESPN picked the Dodgers to win the NL West next season; even projecting the club to win two more games than they did in 2015.

Additionally, the Dodgers reportedly agreed to terms with Kenta Maeda one day after Zaidi’s comments. Assuming the deal becomes official, Los Angeles will have rounded out their starting rotation nicely with the additions of Kazmir and Maeda.

While Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his front office have already been put under a microscope, the pressure and expectations are likely to intensify given some of their roster decisions and now having a handpicked manager in Dave Roberts.​

 

• Former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has been hired to play an unspecified role in the Dodgers' front office, according to ESPN sources and multiple reports.

unspecified role?
i thought was farhan's job

 

Anthopoulos on Dodgers: 'I have an opportunity to be here for a long time'
by Eric Stephen | True Blue LA — 12 hours ago

LOS ANGELES -- New Dodgers vice president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos just started at his new position on Monday, two months after walking away from the Blue Jays after 13 years in the organization. His choice of Los Angeles for his new endeavor had a lot to do with a pair of old adversaries in place.

"The Los Angeles Dodgers are obviously one of the premiere organizations in the game, but the people that work here are the main draw," Anthopoulos said via conference call on Tuesday. "The ability to work with Andrew [Friedman], Farhan [Zaidi] and Josh [Byrnes] and everyone that's here."

Anthopoulos was the general manager in Toronto since 2010, in the same division with Friedman as general manager with the Rays for five years. Before Anthopoulos became GM, he was assistant general manager, and got to know fellow assistant GM Zaidi in Oakland.

Those three are within a year of each other in age. Anthopoulos turns 39 in May.

Zaidi was so highly thought of that Anthopoulos tried to him in Toronto two different times, but general manager Billy Beane wouldn't grant permission for essentially a lateral move for Zaidi.

"[Beane] wanted to hang on to him, and rightfully so," Anthopoulos recalled. "[Zaidi] was a really valuable employee."

After six years as GM in Toronto, Anthopoulos walked away from a different collaboration, one with incoming president Mark Shapiro, former Indians general manager. While Anthopoulos had no ill will toward his time in Toronto, he also said he had no regrets whatsoever about his decision to leave Toronto.

It is Friedman and Zaidi with whom Anthopoulos will work with directly most often, in various aspects of baseball operations.

"You surround yourself with people who are really smart and really accomplished, you can get better," Anthopoulos said. "And with my experience and what I've been through, I expect to be able to help out as well."

The most common question regarding the growing Dodgers front office is just how many chiefs is too many? There are technically seven current or former GMs in the Dodgers front office, but that counts advisors Gerry Hunsicker and Ned Colletti as well as 88-year-old Tom Lasorda, whose time as interim GM included trading Paul Konerko for Jeff Shaw.

The four general managers most often involved in the decision-making process — four is still a lot of former GMs to have around, by the way — are Friedman, the president of baseball operations; Zaidi, the general manager; Byrnes, the senior vice president of baseball operations; and now Anthopoulos, the vice president of baseball operations. Anthopoulous gave a glimpse into the hierarchy within.

"I don't view it as having a title. I look at it as talented baseball guys who are here, and that's part of the appeal. All these guys come from different backgrounds and experiences," Anthopoulos explained. "You always want to keep getting better, and the great thing about this game is that you can always get better. You'll make mistakes, but you continue to evolve.

"Ultimately Andrew does have the final say, which is the way it should be. But he's someone who values input and there is great collaboration on that end. I respect those guys so much. It's really exciting for me because I do think it's a great fit, and I think I'm going to improve myself being with them day in and day out.

"Anytime you take executives from other clubs, you're not all going to look at the world the same way. You put them all together, we can consolidate our ideas and thoughts. Hopefully it results in wins."

Anthopoulos will be based out of Los Angeles, working in the office with Friedman and Zaidi in person and directly a distinction he felt was important, and a luxury he didn't always have as GM of the Blue Jays.

"We didn't have everyone that lived in Toronto," he explained. "It felt like we never had enough time of the day to get things done. You're also talking about a large-market club [in the Dodgers] that can play in any field or any market. There isn't anything that these guys can't do or can't get involved in.

Anthopoulos said his original plan was, wherever his new MLB job was, to work out of his home in Toronto, but with the Dodgers' opportunity he chose to move his wife and kids out to California.

Now it's just a matter of how long the Dodgers can keep him.

"There's a totally different level of involvement when you're there day in and day out. I do feel like I have an opportunity to be here for a long time," Anthopoulos said. "That doesn't mean that if a general manager opportunity presented itself that I wouldn't explore that, and we talked about that as well.

"I didn't want to jump around. I'm not someone who does that. I commit to somewhere and give everything I have, and am immersed in whatever I do. That was reflected in sitting down with my wife and family, and deciding to make California home.

"I wouldn't move my family out here if I felt it was going to be a quick stay."