Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman and Giants’ Farhan Zaidi now with Lakers as Mark Walter cleans house in front office originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Los Angeles Dodgers PBO Andrew Friedman will be adding the Los Angeles Lakers to his plate as the latter’s new ownership group is shifting from a Buss family-dominated model to one that only retains Jeanie Buss. Jesse and Joey were removed from their roles on Friday, along with many in the Lakers’ scouting department.
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Friedman and former San Francisco Giants PBO Farhan Zaidi will help transition the new front office in consultant roles, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne. It will be a temporary arrangement where Friedman will work with Rob Pelinka, while Zaidi will work with the franchise’s new majority owner, and LAD’s owner since 2012, Mark Walter.
“Zaidi, currently a special adviser to the Dodgers and renowned for his analytics background, is functioning as Walter’s representative in helping with the transition, sources close to the situation said,” Shelbourne reported.
“Friedman, the president of baseball operations with the Dodgers, has played a lesser role. He mostly consults with Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, sources said. Friedman has helped the Dodgers win three of the past six World Series.”
As Shelbourne explains, Walter will be absorbing the Dodgers and Lakers into his holding company.
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“Both the Lakers and Dodgers are expected to become part of TWG Sports, the entity Walter created to oversee all his sports holdings. As such, Zaidi and Friedman are acting as senior executives of TWG Sports, which is helping with the Lakers after the sale of the team closed last month,” Shelbourne added.
Certainly, Friedman has an eye for championship talent. Pelinka does too, having signed LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and trading for Anthony Davis to build an NBA championship roster in 2019-20. Zaidi didn’t oversee a successful run with the SF Giants, though.
It’s unclear how they’ll all collaborate, but it has sky-high potential based on the resumes and organizational culture alone.
