Dave Roberts or Andrew Friedman? Who is Under More Pressure for Dodgers?

Are either Roberts or Friedman on the hot seat?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

There is a lot of pressure on the Los Angeles Dodgers organization to win another World Series and lead the team to success, but ESPN insider Buster Olney believes the pressure is more on manager Dave Roberts than president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

While Friedman was largely responsible for much of the heavy spending the Dodgers did during their billion-dollar offseason by bringing in stars like Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, the pressure is on Roberts to lead this team to wins.

“Is there enormous pressure on Andrew Friedman at this moment? No. They don't win the World Series, I don't think he has pressure," Olney told Dodgers Nation's Doug McKain. "However, I do think there's a lot of pressure on Dave Roberts. I do think, probably because as a manager who’s not making as much money as Andrew, it's a lot easier to change the manager than any other spot. So I think that pressure point is on that manager spot for the Dodgers this year.” 

‌One key factor that helps Friedman is that Shohei Ohtani has a clause in his contract that allows him to opt out of his deal if either Friedman or owner Mark Walter leaves the team. The Dodgers certainly don't want to risk losing their star player, making Friedman and Ohtani's futures nearly tied together.

Additionally, the pressure is on Roberts since he has been given all the talent a team would need to win the World Series. While Olney doesn't necessarily believe the Dodgers have to win the World Series this year, especially compared to the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, there are certain expectations for the team to bring at least one home in the next few seasons.

The Dodgers are of course not playing their best baseball at the moment. While injuries to stars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Mookie Betts are hurting the team, they've lost six out of their last seven games heading into the All-Star Break. The team has fallen to 56-41 but remains in a good position to win the National League West and make the postseason even with some recent struggles.