The Dodgers' Front Office is the Best in Baseball, According to this Poll

Maren Angus-Coombs | Apr 26, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

As the 2024 Major League Baseball season got underway, The Athletic canvassed 40 executives across the league to find out which teams have the best front office.

They were asked to rank the top five front offices in baseball in exchange for anonymity and assigned a point value to each position — 10 points for first place, seven points for second place, five points for third, three points for fourth, and one point for fifth.

There was one clear favorite.

With 284 total points and 19 first-place votes, the Los Angeles Dodgers finished with 26 more points than second-place Tampa Bay.

When Andrew Friedman left the Rays in 2014, he inherited a gold mine with the Dodgers. They have never missed the playoffs under his direction, winning the National League West in eight of his nine seasons. They have won three NL pennants and one World Series in 2020.

One executive described a first-place vote for the Dodgers as “self-explanatory. They are elite at everything.”

Another executive said, “One of the things he does so well is knowing which stars to sign."

Friedman has acquired and signed some of the game's biggest stars like Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman. He has made big splashes at the trade deadline, acquiring Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, and Manny Machado. Although he frequently trades prospects for major league talent, few of those prospects have gone on to become stars.

Another executive explained Friedman's “insane discipline,” not wasting resources on mid-tier players so that when a star becomes available, the team can pounce.

“Andrew,” another executive said, “is the best at this.”