Andrew Friedman must break his cardinal rule to make trade Dodgers desperately need

Nobody hates overpaying at the MLB trade deadline more than Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

Friedman's cardinal rules and discipline has helped him not only build the Dodgers into a World Series championship team, but also build one of the best farm systems in all of baseball.

The Dodgers have six prospects ranked in the current Top 100 and a handful of former prospects currently thriving in the Major Leagues. That's rare for a team that's prepping for a 13th consecutive postseason berth.

Andrew Friedman knows what he's doing, but at this year's MLB trade deadline, he might need to go against his instincts and break his cardinal rule in order to get the Dodgers the help that they need.

Los Angeles is desperate for pitching help, specifically in the bullpen. But as we have seen over the years, rental relievers at the deadline almost always net bigger prospect returns than they should.

Someone is going to overpay, and this year, it should be the Dodgers.

The Dodgers bullpen has been a mess

As The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal pointed out in his recent trade deadline report, Friedman may have no choice but to meet a team's asking price for one of the top relievers on the market.

"Even the Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman, who hates overpaying at the deadline, might need to go against his instincts," wrote Rosenthal. "The Dodgers’ bullpen, beset by injuries and underperformance, entered Sunday having allowed the seventh-highest OPS in the majors, and the highest of any contender."

The Dodgers are planning to get Tanner Scott and Michael Kopech back from injury at some point in August. Blake Treinen could be back any day now. But ignoring the glaring need in the bullpen and assuming things are going to be fixed when these guys come back from injury would be foolish.

How can Friedman be confident that more injuries won't be coming? Are we supposed to assume that Treinen, Scott, and Kopech are going to re-join the team in midseason form?

The Dodgers need to be proactive at the deadline and make a push to repeat as World Series champions.

The Dodgers have been burned by overpaying for relievers

Rosenthal noted in his article that the Dodgers have been burned in the poast by overpaying for relief pitchers. They traded Yordan Álvarez for to the Astros for Josh Fields, Oneil Cruz to the Pirates for Tony Watson, and Zach McKinstry to the Cubs for Chris Martin.

Obviously, those are trades that Los Angeles looks back on with some regret. But at the end of the day, you play every season to win the World Series. The Dodgers have a $340 million payroll in 2025 because they want to repeat as champions.

The Dodgers don't stand a chance in the postseason this year if they don't make upgrades to their bullpen.

It may go against everything Andrew Friedman stands for, but at the this year's trade deadline, the Dodgers need to make a splash, even if that means overpaying with prospects.