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wow..
they've given him the keys to the entire deal..
I like the move.... Colletti will remain as an advisor....but Friedman will now be able to hire a new GM...
I'm thinking Mattingly may be on the hotseat now too....
wonder what it would take to get Maddon..
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/11700813/los-angeles-dodgers-hire-ex-tampa-bay-rays-gm-andrew-friedman
The Los Angeles Dodgers will name Tampa Bay Rays general manager Andrew Friedman as their new president of baseball operations, sources told ESPN.
Ned Colletti, who has been the Dodgers general manager since 2005, will remain with the club in a new role as senior advisor to the president and CEO of the Dodgers, Stan Kasten.
Andrew Friedman Andrew Friedman became the Tampa Bay GM in 2005 -- at the age of 28.
Sources said that Friedman, in his role as president of baseball operations, will have the ability to hire a general manager.
Landing the 37-year-old Friedman is a coup for the Dodgers. A handful of teams have tried unsuccessfully to poach the talented young executive with a Wall Street background, who piloted the small-market, budget-conscious Rays to six consecutive winning seasons and four playoff appearances after taking over in 2008.
This season, however, the Rays finished fourth in the American League East (77-85) after trading away ace left-hander David Price to the Detroit Tigers in order in order to get a return on the former Cy Young Award winner before he could leave as a free agent after next season.
In Los Angeles, where the Dodgers had the highest payroll in baseball last season and an ownership group that's shown a willingness to spend since purchasing the team for $2.15 billion in 2012, Friedman will have no such financial pressures to manage.
The Dodgers have won the National League West two consecutive years, but have twice lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs -- first in the NLCS and this season in the NLDS.
This season's failure to advance out of the divisional series immediately began speculation that Colletti's job may be on the line. However, sources insist that the team's performance in the playoffs is not the reason the team pursued Friedman.
Kasten has long believed a strong farm system is the key to organizational success. It's how he and John Scheurholtz built the Atlanta Braves in the 1990s. And Friedman's strengths in player development and scouting dovetail perfectly with Kasten's vision.
Ironically, sources say the Dodgers' failed pursuit of a trade for Price this summer only heightened their admiration of Friedman. Said one source: "They always asked for the right prospects. Not just the guys everybody knows, either."
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly enters the second year of a three-year contract next season.
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