Dodgers hire Andrew Friedman: The view from Tampa Bay.

Andrew Friedman

The Dodgers named Andrew Friedman their President, Baseball Operations on Tuesday. (Associated Press photo)


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.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.