Andrew Friedman laughed Friday when asked if he knew he would be hated by Dodgers fans if his recent trades don’t work out.
“Not any more than we’ll hate ourselves,” said Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations.
The most polarizing of Friedman’s deals resulted in Matt Kemp’s move to the San Diego Padres.
Kemp was one of the Dodgers’ most popular players, something Friedman said he considered when deciding whether to trade him.
“He was a really popular player because of how gifted he is offensively,” Friedman said. “We get it. I have a lot of respect for what he can do in the batter’s box. You have to give up talent to get talent and we felt this put us in a position to be a better baseball team.”
In exchange for Kemp and backup catcher Tim Federowicz, the Dodgers received catcher Yasmani Grandal, right-hander Joe Wieland and pitching prospect Zach Eflin. The Dodgers flipped Eflin to the Philadelphia Phillies to complete their trade for shortstop Jimmy Rollins.
The Dodgers will also cover $32 million of the $107 million Kemp is guaranteed over the next five seasons.
Friedman defended the trade by pointing to the scarcity of quality catchers and shortstops. He also highlighted the virtues of Grandal, who will split time behind the plate with A.J. Ellis.
“He’s a switch hitter with above-average power,” Friedman said. “We really like the quality of his at-bats and how he grinds opposing pitchers. He has very strong defensive tools and we’re excited about him working with Steve Yeager.”
Friedman said he didn’t have any concerns about Grandal’s history of using performance-enhancing drugs. Grandal served a 50-game suspension in 2013 for his links to a Miami clinic that provided athletes with banned substances.
“Obviously, we’ve done a lot of work on his makeup and understanding him,” Friedman said.
Josh Byrnes, the vice president of baseball operations, was previously the general manager of the Padres.
Asked how Grandal has changed as a player since his suspension, Friedman replied, “He’s still a switch hitter with above-average power who’s good on both sides of the ball.”
Is his power closer to average now?
“We think he’s a really good player,” Friedman said. “I don’t know what to tell you.
Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez
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