Andrew Friedman, Los Angeles Dodgers
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(Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, offered more insight into his advisory role with the Los Angeles Lakers as he helps in the ownership transition from the Buss family to Mark Walter.
On Nov. 21 of last year,ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported, citing multiple sources, that Farhan Zaidi and Friedman have taken on advisory roles with the Lakers as Walter takes over as the owner of another marquee franchise in Los Angeles.
During a Jan. 29 appearance on Dodgers Territory, Friedman shared more details about his work with the NBA franchise, as both the Lakers and Dodgers are part of TWG Sports, the company Walter established to manage all of his sports holdings.
“Farhan is spending a lot of time helping Mark and all of his different interests,” Friedman said. “I’ve got a pretty full‑time gig here. That being said, we’re all under this TWG umbrella, and it’s about providing resources to one another and whatever benefits we can get, collaborating. That’s how we see it.
“Anything that’s under Mark’s umbrella is kind of on all of us to be able to work together and achieve the best outcomes for TWG. So still a full‑time job here. Definitely not taking my eye off the ball, but just having really good conversations with Rob Pelinka.
“Farhan has jumped in there some, and Rob Pelinka came out to our Dodger organization town hall and did a Q&A and just all leaning in together to work together and try to figure out the best ways to bring as many championships to Los Angeles as we can.”
Andrew Friedman’s Role With the Lakers
Moreover, Friedman is pretty straightforward about his involvement with the Lakers, as Shelburne’s reporting, citing sources, revealed that he mostly consults with Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka.
Walter became the Lakers’ new majority owner on Oct. 29 in a $10 billion deal. Under the agreement, Jeanie Buss will continue serving as the team’s governor for at least the next five years.
Dodgers Give Tommy Edman Injury Update
As for the Dodgers, Friedman shared major news on utility standout Tommy Edman, who dealt with an ankle injury for most of the season and impacted his production. Nonetheless, with spring training approaching, the Dodgers executive shared positive news on Edman.
“The arrow is pointing up, just went and got evaluated again for that checkup, and everything is pointed in a good direction,”Friedman said. “Exactly what that means, we don’t know yet. Until we really start ramping up baseball activity, getting them in spikes, and doing it day after day after day, how the body responds will dictate a lot of it.”
Last season, Edman’s injury-plagued campaign limited him to posting a .225 batting average with 78 hits, 13 home runs, 49 RBIs, and 49 runs scored in 97 games,per StatMuse.
Now that Edman is slowly moving past his ankle injury, it will be interesting to see if his production ticks upward. He will remain a vital piece of the Dodgers’ lineup, even with the offseason addition of outfielder Kyle Tucker.