Where does Tommy Edman trade rank among Andrew Friedman's best Dodgers deals?

With just one out and two runners in scoring position at the bottom of the 10th on Tuesday night, Tommy Edman stepped up to the plate against the Marlins with the chance to walk things off for the Dodgers. They'd already squandered an opportunity in the bottom of the ninth, with Freddie Freeman reaching on a walk followed by three consecutive strikeouts from the heart of the order. Then, the Marlins tacked a run on in the top of the 10th to go up by a run.

But Edman has turned into a machine for the Dodgers. He led the team in home runs alone until April 26, when Teoscar Hernández matched him, but Edman's .534 slugging after that game was the highest it's ever been through his first 27 games.

He didn't even need to slug to rise to the moment; he saw one pitch from Marlins reliever Ronny Henriquez and sent it to right field, where it dropped to bring Andy Pages and Michael Conforto home. Edman had already proved that he's an invaluable part of the Dodgers' lineup and made LA the clear winners of the three-way trade with the Cardinals and White Sox that got him to LA, but the walk-off RBI hammered it home: Edman might be one of Andrew Friedman's best trade gets in years.

Dodgers trading for Monday night walk-off hero Tommy Edman might be one of Andrew Friedman's best moves in years

The trade that got Edman, a longtime target for the team, to the Dodgers also saw Michael Kopech and a prospect come to LA. Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham both went from Chicago to St. Louis, and Miguel Vargas, along with two Dodgers prospects, went from LA to St. Louis.

Nothing will ever top Friedman's trade with the Red Sox for Mookie Betts, but the caliber of the trade for Edman is a lot closer to that than, say, the one that sent then-prospect Yordan Alvarez to the Astros. We can also probably say that it's better than the trade that delivered Tyler Glasnow, given Glasnow's frustrating, repeated bouts of injury. Although the Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner brought big names to LA, Edman's influence in helping them win a World Series in 2024 and continuining to provide stability the very next season has been more impactful.

The Dodgers were able to give up so little in return for Edman and then secure his future in LA with a five-year, $74 million contract extension, which makes the trade all the better. This has to be a top-three trade of Friedman's tenure with the Dodgers.