Dodgers: Worst trades of the Andrew Friedman era

Andrew Friedman has done a lot of good as the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but some of his trades have not looked as brilliant in hindsight.

The Los Angeles Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman away from the Tampa Bay Rays and inserted him as their President of Baseball Operations on October 14, 2014. At the time, Friedman was an up-and-coming executive with a penchant for making shrewd roster moves and building a talented prospect pool. Meanwhile, the Dodgers were coming out of a period of spending freely and determined that a change of mindset was needed in their decision-making departments.

It is hard to argue with the results thus far. Since taking over, Friedman’s Dodgers teams have won five-straight division titles (seven overall), won the National League pennant twice, fielded two Rookie of the Year winners and one MVP. All of this has been while paring down payroll and building one of baseball’s best farm systems.

In other words, Friedman has done everything the Dodgers have asked him to do, except delivering a World Series title.

Trophy aside, the Dodgers have built a perennial contender primarily from inside the organization. However, there have been cases where the organization has been forced to step outside and make trades to fill holes that, at the time, were thought to put the team over the top.

For his part, Friedman has lived up to his reputation and been shrewd when it comes to parting with the team’s top prospects to add short-term pieces. That’s allowed the team to hold onto the likes of Walker Buehler, Gavin Lux, Dustin May, Corey Seager, and others that now contribute at the major league level.

That isn’t to say that Friedman hasn’t had a few trades that he’s regretted over his tenure. There are a few that he would surely take back if he knew the result wouldn’t have equaled the cost.

More Articles About Dodgers Trade History:

Dodgers trade Willie Calhoun, others for Yu Darvish

As mentioned above, Andrew Friedman has done a great job of steering trade partners towards less-rated prospects in the system, preserving some of the top talents to contribute to the big league club over the years. However, there was one trade that Friedman was forced to stray from that path and give up one of his best prospects.

That was the July 31, 2017 trade that brought Yu Darvish to the Dodgers.

A two-time All-Star in Texas, Darvish was set to be a free agent after the 2017 season and was easily the top available starter on the market. Los Angeles had a 14-game lead in the NL West and didn’t show any signs of needing a big addition at the deadline. However, Friedman and Farhan Zaidi opted to add Darvish because they thought the club was a World Series contender and needed one more piece to make them the favorite to win it all.

To make a trade happen with Texas, and likely keep Darvish from other contenders, the Dodgers parted ways with then #3 overall prospect Willie Calhoun, as well as pitcher A.J. Alexy and infielder Brendon Davis.

Darvish gave the Dodgers nine starts down the stretch, working to a 4-3 record with a 3.44 ERA, a 3.38 FIP, and an 11.1 K/9 ratio. In particular, his final three starts of the season looked promising, with Darvish going 2-0, surrendering just one earned run and striking out 21 over 19.1 innings of work. He would add two quality starts in the NLDS and NLCS respectively, allowing just two earned runs (both on solo home runs) over his 11.1 innings.

The rest, they say, is written in history.

Darvish would get rocked in two World Series starts, allowing nine hits, two home runs, and eight earned runs (nine total) over just 3.2 combined innings and contributing to the Dodgers’ loss in the 2017 World Series. Of course, that performance comes with two asterisks; one for Darvish purportedly tipping his pitches and the other for the Astros cheating scandal.

The deal hurt all the more for the Dodgers due to the cost to acquire Darvish. While Alexy and Davis are not likely to amount to everyday pieces, Calhoun blossomed in his first extended stay in the big leagues in 2019. Getting ample opportunity starting in mid-May, Calhoun went on to slash .269/.323/.524 with 21 home runs and 48 RBI over 309 at-bats for the Rangers. Now 25-years-old, Calhoun was flagged as a breakout candidate in 2020, before he took a fastball to the face in Spring Training and the season was put on hold due to Coronavirus concerns.

It’s tough to know if Calhoun would have factored into the Dodgers plans currently, with Gavin Lux being a better prospect at second base and the outfield well-manned, but his bat certainly would have played.

Dodgers trade Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields

When the Los Angeles Dodgers committed to Cuban outfielder Yordan Alvarez with a $2 million signing bonus, they thought a lot of his potential. That much is evidenced not only by the bonus but the fact that the team had to also pay a $2 million tax to match that bonus and forego any significant additions during the following international signing periods.

However, the team also had a few needs to fill when at the 2016 waiver trade deadline. The deal with Oakland brought some much-needed stability to the rotation. Likewise, the team struck a trade with the Houston Astros to shore up the relief corps when they acquired Josh Fields. To make a deal happen, they parted with Alvarez before he would ever play a single game in the organization.

Like the Hill acquisition, the Dodgers got immediate dividends from Fields. The right-hander would make 22 appearances out of the Dodgers bullpen over the final month-plus of the season, pitching to the tune of a 2.79 ERA, a 2.83 FIP, and a 10.2 K/9 ratio. He would spend two more seasons in Los Angeles, and ultimately go 8-2 with a 2.61 ERA, a 3.89 FIP, and an 8.8 K/9 mark.

While the Dodgers thought highly of Alvarez, the jury was still out on what type of prospect he would be. Known at the time for being a solid contact hitter, the young outfielder hadn’t grown into any power and scouts weren’t convinced how much he would tap into.

Three years later, Alvarez made his MLB debut for the Astros at 22-years-old, featuring primarily as a first baseman and playing in 87 games for the 2019 Houston team. All he did with his time was slash .313/.412/.655 with 27 home runs, 78 RBI, and a wRC+ of 178. He would also hit .412/.524/.588 with a home run and a pair of RBI for the ‘Stros during their World Series loss to the Nationals.

Now, the Dodgers couldn’t have known that Alvarez would develop into such a stud in his first season, especially without having him play at all in their system. But when you couple the loss of the prospect with the amount it cost to sign him, it hurts even more. The Dodgers’ spending spree during that signing period prevented them from signing any significant deals the following season, a class that included top-MLB prospect Wander Franco.