7 best trades Andrew Friedman has made with the Dodgers

It is officially trade season and, as they are every year, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be buyers. While a massive trade does not seem to be in the cards this year (unless the team does indeed break the bank for Juan Soto), the Dodgers will still most likely make a move or two.

We know that because Andrew Friedman has been very active in improving the roster at every turn since taking over as President of Baseball Operations. Friedman is responsible for building the juggernaut that we see in LA today and he has made a litany of moves to make that possible.

That raises the question: what are the best trades that Friedman has made? There have been a lot over the years but seven, in particular, stand out.

7 best trades that Andrew Friedman has made with the Los Angeles Dodgers:

7. Trading for Yu Darvish

If Yu Darvish doesn’t get shelled in Game 7 of the World Series then this trade would rank much higher on the list. While most Dodger fans have bad feelings towards Darvish because of the way he blew up and cost the team a chance to win the World Series, it was still a good trade in the grand scheme of things.

First of all, Darvish was a big reason why the Dodgers were in that position to begin with. While he was not great in the regular season to wrap up with LA, he did pitch well in both the NLDS and NLCS that year. He gave the Dodgers a much-needed starter for October.

If it was not Darvish down the stretch, it would have probably been Ross Stripling. And while he was an All-Star the following season, that would have been much worse.

What makes this a good trade is the return the Rangers ultimately got for Darvish. The crown jewel of the package for Texas was Willie Calhoun, who has not amounted to much of anything in the league. He is no longer even in Texas.

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6. Trading for Manny Machado

Manny Machado might be one of the most hated rivals for Dodgers fans in 2022 but that does not make the 2018 trade any worse than it actually was. Once again, if the Dodgers were able to actually win the World Series in 2018, then this trade would probably rank higher on this list.

While Machado was the last out of the 2018 World Series, he played really well for the Dodgers and gave the team the bat that it desperately needed with Corey Seager out of commission. Hustling issues aside, there is no denying that Machado had an impact on the Dodgers.

Machado hit .273 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI in 66 games with the Dodgers. That is a 162-game pace of over 30 home runs and 100 RBI. With the 2018 Dodgers being arguably their least-talented team of the last half-decade (which is crazy considering they won the Pennant), Machado’s bat was invaluable.

Once again, the package that the Dodgers sent for Machado looks much better four years later. The main piece of that deal was then-top 100 prospect Yusniel Diaz, who has amounted to nothing for the Orioles to this point.

Zach Pop is no longer with the organization and Rylan Bannon is likely going to be a Triple-A lifer. Dean Kremer was horrible in his first two seasons in Baltimore, although he has pitched better this year. He still would not even be in the Dodgers rotation, though.

4. Trading for Trea Turner and Max Scherzer

This trade is still a work in progress and it could easily end up being much higher on this list. Trea Turner is still under his initial contract with the Dodgers, and if the team is able to re-sign him this offseason, then the trade will shoot up the rankings for that reason alone.

This trade could even rank higher if the Dodgers win the World Series in 2022 and Turner plays a big role in that outcome. Turner has been fantastic in 2022, but as far as the 2021 results go, it did not go as planned.

Turner struggled with the Dodgers, particularly in the postseason. He was not the same guy he was with the Nationals, and it was a shame to see. Meanwhile, Max Scherzer suffered dead arm that he tried blaming on the Dodgers, which hurt the team’s rotation in the NLCS.

Los Angeles did trade two pretty big-name prospects in this trade in Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz and the verdict is obviously still out on them. They could turn into great MLB players, but they could also follow the same path as other prospects Friedman and Co. have traded in the past.

Gray has not been that great this season, as the 24-year-old has a 4.40 ERA and 1.272 WHIP. Ruiz has left more to be desired in 2022 as well, with a .252/.313/.350 slash line. However, Ruiz is good defensively behind the plate and just barely turned 24.

3. The Salary Dump with the Cincinnati Reds

This is a trade that was not received as well when it initially happened and it proves that Andrew Friedman is one of the smartest minds in baseball. The Dodgers traded away several valuable members of the 2018 team for practically nothing, as the team was just saving money against the luxury tax for 2019.

At the time, it was expected that the team would bring in Bryce Harper with the money that was saved but, instead, the Dodgers just brought in AJ Pollock. For that reason, this trade seemed like a huge disappointment for LA.

Los Angeles sent fan-favorites Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, as well as Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer, to the Cincinnati Reds for Homer Bailey and two prospects. Bailey was instantly waived by the Dodgers, as he was just a cap causality.

Those two prospects that the Dodgers received in the trade were none other than Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs. Neither prospect ranked that high with the Reds, and after being traded to the Dodgers, they both became top-100 prospects in the sport.

The Dodgers were then able to flip both of those prospects in two big trades that rank on this list, one of which we already covered. So not only did the Dodgers save money, but they got a better outfielder in AJ Pollock, as well as two prospects that were key components to making other trades happen.

It might not be a superstar trade, but it is still a genius trade by Friedman and the front office.

2. Trading Zach Lee for Chris Taylor

If you have spent a minute on Dodgers Twitter, then you already know the infamous tweet that has become a meme at this point.

The Dodgers traded someone who was previously a highly-touted prospect in the system for someone who seemed to be a Triple-A lifer in Chris Taylor. Prior to the trade, Taylor had appeared in only 86 MLB games and had an OPS of .593.

Lee may have lost most of his trade value as a top prospect, but the fact that the Dodgers traded him for someone like Taylor still seemed absurd. However, the Dodgers very obviously saw something in Taylor, who has since become a key component in the team’s success.

Now one of the longest-tenured players on the roster, Taylor has an All-Star appearance, won the 2017 NLCS MVP, and slammed a walk-off home run in the do-or-die Wild Card Game against the Cardinals last season.

Taylor’s versatility has been extremely valuable to the Dodgers, as the utility man has slashed .261/.339/.453 with a 111 OPS+ in LA. Not the most eye-popping stats, but Taylor has been a consistent, quality member of the lineup since day one.

CT3 has also been Mr. NLCS for the Dodgers. On top of his NLCS MVP award from 2017, Taylor has a 1.122 OPS in his 23 (the most of any series) career NLCS games. There have been 47 position players in MLB history to play in 20 or more NLCS games. Taylor has the second-best OPS of those 47 players, sandwiched between Carlos Beltran and Albert Pujols.

1. Trading for Mookie Betts

The Boston Red Sox trading Mookie Betts will still never make sense. This is a multi-billion dollar franchise that low-balled its franchise player and decided to instead trade him for 90 cents on the dollar. Meanwhile, Boston is paying two mediocre players in Trevor Story and Nathan Eovaldi a combined $208 million.

Eovaldi and Story are making a combined $37 million on the payroll this season. Betts’ payroll salary is $22 million with a $29 million luxury tax salary. Betts has more WAR this season than Story and Eovaldi combined.

Mookie is now the face of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he has already made a big enough impact to make the trade worth it. While Corey Seager was the 2020 World Series MVP, the Dodgers do not win Game 6 of the 2020 World Series without Betts.

In 254 games with the Dodgers, Betts is slashing .272/.360/.518 with 61 home runs, 148 RBI and elite defense. He has put together 11.0 WAR since joining the Dodgers, which is ninth in MLB in that span. Betts is eighth in the league in WAR/G in that same span.

The package wasn’t small for the Red Sox, but they definitely did not get fair value in return. The Dodgers traded Alex Verdugo, who had a really good first season in Boston but has since fallen back to being a league-average outfielder. Jeter Downs and Connor Wong were the prospects in the trade, and the jury is still out on both of them.

Shohei Ohtani inadvertently opened door for Dodgers rumors at All-Star Game

Shohei Ohtani was among the biggest names at the 2022 MLB All-Star Game and his comments on Dodger Stadium may have started some buzz.

One thing is for certain, though: neither of them is going to be Mookie Betts. There are very few generational superstars like Mookie Betts and thanks to the Red Sox being cheap, he will likely end up going into Cooperstown as a Dodger if he continues to play at this level.