Dodgers’ Friedman Faces First Test

Oct 17, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Andrew Friedman is introduced as Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations at press conference at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, is just beginning to get a taste of baseball life in the big city.

Coming from a market where interest in baseball could be called lukewarm at best, Friedman was used to working in the shadows and making moves that don’t get placed under the microscope. Now that he is in Los Angeles, he is learning what it is like to be constantly watched by the same media that often turned a blind eye to any moves being made in Tampa.

In an article by Bill Plunkett for the Orange County Register, Friedman called the attention and rumors linked to a team like the Dodgers “comical”.

At the same time, Andrew Friedman is quickly learning that this attention comes with the job and, as comical as it may seem, it may be necessary to find a way to use those rumors to the Dodgers’ advantage to improve the roster.

With the start of Major League Baseball’s winter meetings, Andrew Friedman and new GM Farhan Zaidi face their first major test as the new brain trust of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite winning their division for the second straight year in 2014, a poor finish in the playoffs left the Dodgers heading into the offseason with a number of question marks. Fair or not, how Friedman and Zaidi look to answer these questions this week may quickly determine whether they are seen as the right men to lead the Dodgers going forward. Let’s take a look at some of the areas that should receive special attention from the Dodgers this week at the winter meetings.