LOS ANGELES — Fresh off another early playoff exit, the Los Angeles Dodgers shook up their front office Tuesday.
They hired Andrew Friedman for the new position of president of baseball operations, while current general manger Ned Colletti will stay on in a new role as a senior adviser to team president and CEO Stan Kasten.
Friedman comes from the Tampa Bay Rays, where he was executive vice president of baseball operations for nine years after being hired at age 28.
Kasten called Friedman “one of the youngest and brightest minds in the game today.” Now 37, Friedman guided the Rays to four postseason appearances, including two division titles in 2009 and 2010 while overseeing one of the major leagues’ lowest payrolls.
In joining the Dodgers, Friedman will have baseball’s highest payroll of $256 million at his disposal.
Friedman is a former Wall Street analyst who joined the Rays in 2004 and worked as director of baseball development during his first two years. Under Friedman, the Rays posted the franchise’s first winning season and won the American League pennant in 2008.
The Rays finished under .500 in each of their first 10 years of existence before finishing above .500 under Friedman from 2008-13.
This season, however, the Rays finished fourth in the AL East with a 77-85 record after trading away ace David Price to the Detroit Tigers.
Colletti spent nine years as GM of the Dodgers. The team reached the postseason five times and won four division titles, but had early playoff exits the last two years, including last week when they lost their National League Division Series to St. Louis in four games, which triggered speculation that Colletti’s job was in jeopardy.
Kasten said Colletti’s knowledge and experience will be an asset as the Dodgers continue to build their farm system.
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