The Dodgers’ poaching of Andrew Friedman from the Tampa Bay Rays’ front office produced a predictable ripple effect in Florida. Call it somewhere between a minor tsunami and a major tidal wave.
How big is losing Friedman to the Rays? “It’s a huge loss,” said the man who’s replacing Friedman, Matt Silverman. Silverman also called the announcement “difficult and emotional.”
Tampa Tribune columnist Martin Fennelly writes that owner Stuart Sternberg — not Friedman, not manager Joe Maddon — is the linchpin to the Rays’ small-market success. Yet another local scribe called Friedman “the Rays’ MVP.”
Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times compiled a list of Friedman’s best and worst transactions as the Rays’ GM.