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<v Speaker 1>Andrew Freeman, a big day, a big smile. I know

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<v Speaker 1>there's been a lot of sleepless nights for you. Can

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<v Speaker 1>you exhale now?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 3>I mean there were definitely a lot of knights up

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<v Speaker 3>pulling our hair out and worried about, you know, what

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<v Speaker 3>kind of decision he was going to make. And we

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<v Speaker 3>felt like we put our best foot forward. It was

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<v Speaker 3>so many different departments and people contributing to ensure that.

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<v Speaker 3>But obviously there are a lot of great teams out there.

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<v Speaker 3>And until I actually got the text from Show Hey

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<v Speaker 3>that said we got him who beat the agent to

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<v Speaker 3>the punch? But until that moment, we weren't sure.

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<v Speaker 1>When you got that text, did you believe it? Was

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<v Speaker 1>it similar to the feeling you had last year when

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<v Speaker 1>you got the news that Otani had chosen the Dodgers

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<v Speaker 1>as well?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I knew show he wouldn't mess with me, just

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<v Speaker 3>not his personality. I had to like clear my eyes

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<v Speaker 3>and read it again because I didn't expect it to

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<v Speaker 3>come from Show Hey. But when I saw it, did

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<v Speaker 3>a double take and then realized what he was saying,

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<v Speaker 3>and just pure excitement. We had a bunch of guys

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<v Speaker 3>around the office and everyone was just fired up.

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<v Speaker 1>We've heard so much about the courting process, about having

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<v Speaker 1>the dinners, about Otani and Yamamoto having a dinner with him.

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<v Speaker 1>How much do you believe that comfort led to him

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<v Speaker 1>choosing the Dodgers.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean I think you know.

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<v Speaker 3>Obviously his prior relationship with Shohei and Yoshinobu definitely helps.

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<v Speaker 3>They were able to talk to him through this and

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<v Speaker 3>not in a salesman type way, just be honest with

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<v Speaker 3>their experiences and how they think it would help Roki,

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<v Speaker 3>which I think was incredibly valuable.

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<v Speaker 2>And then even beyond that, just the.

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<v Speaker 3>Number of guys we had either in person or send

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<v Speaker 3>in a video, and the video was guys saying how

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<v Speaker 3>well we take care of players, take care of players families,

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<v Speaker 3>and help make guys better. And it was almost to

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<v Speaker 3>a man. We didn't script it with anyone, and almost

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<v Speaker 3>to a man, that's how all the videos came back.

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<v Speaker 3>So the reason we wanted to do that was for

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<v Speaker 3>Rokie as he's making this decision and he's thinking, Okay,

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<v Speaker 3>I like the Dodgers, I like what they're about, I

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<v Speaker 3>think they can help make me better. But I wonder

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<v Speaker 3>how it would be received in the clubhouse. I just

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<v Speaker 3>don't know that we had the vast majority of our roster,

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<v Speaker 3>either in person or on video, tell him how much

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<v Speaker 3>they want him to be their teammate.

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<v Speaker 1>What's this about the homework assignment? How accurate is that

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<v Speaker 1>that he was asking the Dodgers and other teams how

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<v Speaker 1>he can get better, how he could get his fastball better?

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<v Speaker 1>And how comfortable were you sharing what your thoughts would be.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, there's a couple of things in that one. When

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<v Speaker 3>we got the question from Joel Wolf. At first it was,

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<v Speaker 3>oh my god, our meetings in four days. We have

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<v Speaker 3>to scramble and you know, put the us together. The

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<v Speaker 3>second was I thought it was really smart. His velocity

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<v Speaker 3>was down. It was stuff that we had talked about,

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<v Speaker 3>and for him to solicit opinions from other teams coming

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<v Speaker 3>in a speaks to his curiosity and desire to be great,

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<v Speaker 3>but also gives him real insight into how an organization

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<v Speaker 3>works together, how they think through things, what kind of

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<v Speaker 3>technology they have access to, which we feel like is

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<v Speaker 3>in our sweet spot. So we were really excited about

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<v Speaker 3>that opportunity, and we're able to talk through from training

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<v Speaker 3>room to weight room to mound, from our pitching coaches,

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<v Speaker 3>to our performance coaches, to our training staff, how connected

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<v Speaker 3>they are the reports that are generated after a start.

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<v Speaker 3>Because the point was there were some changes in his delivery,

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<v Speaker 3>and our point was about how we're on things like that,

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<v Speaker 3>either end game or the.

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<v Speaker 2>Next day after a start.

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<v Speaker 3>So we would never let something go that long without

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<v Speaker 3>addressing it, and so we were able to speak to

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<v Speaker 3>what we saw as the differences how we would proactively

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<v Speaker 3>go about addressing it. And again, I think just the

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<v Speaker 3>way everyone is so connected from our front office, performance

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<v Speaker 3>science group down into our clubhouse and the way everyone

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<v Speaker 3>works so well together really came through.

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<v Speaker 1>How do you manage a picture like him? He's so unique,

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<v Speaker 1>twenty three years old, you got a full one sixty

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<v Speaker 1>two season. We saw there's an adjustment period. How do

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<v Speaker 1>you what vision do you have as far as the

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<v Speaker 1>way you may deploy him?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean for us, we need to be around

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<v Speaker 3>him more to have a better feel for that. We

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<v Speaker 3>don't have a great feel right now for how he

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<v Speaker 3>recovers and what is routine is between starts. It'll probably

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<v Speaker 3>be different here. He's still learning that, and so it's

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<v Speaker 3>one of those things that we're going to partner with him.

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<v Speaker 3>And we're going to help him figure out what makes

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<v Speaker 3>the most sense. He's have some great guys to look

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<v Speaker 3>around the clubhouse and pick their brain on it as well,

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<v Speaker 3>and we'll figure out that in between start routine, and

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<v Speaker 3>then we're gonna let him go, and then we'll figure

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<v Speaker 3>out as we get into the year how he's doing,

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<v Speaker 3>how he's maintaining his stuff. But this guy is incredibly talented,

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<v Speaker 3>but there's still real development left. And his desire is

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<v Speaker 3>to be the first Japanese pitcher to win a SI

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<v Speaker 3>Young Award.

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<v Speaker 2>He definitely has that ability.

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<v Speaker 3>And you know, between his ability, the curiosity, the work ethic,

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<v Speaker 3>the determination, and our staff, we think there's a chance

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<v Speaker 3>for really special things to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>How many man hours have you put in trying to

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<v Speaker 1>scout him be prepared for this moment, Andrew, this was

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<v Speaker 1>not a few weeks or a few months, This was

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<v Speaker 1>a few years.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I don't know how to answer that, but I

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<v Speaker 3>know that Galen Carr it would have been cheaper had

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<v Speaker 3>he just gotten in a part artment in Japan. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>he spent so much time over there just watching him

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<v Speaker 3>and obviously we couldn't have contact, but I think he

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<v Speaker 3>could feel our presence.

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<v Speaker 2>He knew the teams that were there, he knew that

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<v Speaker 2>a vice.

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<v Speaker 3>President from the Dodgers, I think, was there, and it

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<v Speaker 3>was a sign of respect, but also our strong desire

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<v Speaker 3>to partner with him at some point and the potential

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<v Speaker 3>upside that comes with that. But there were a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of people, you know who Rokie's been on the radar

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<v Speaker 3>for years now and then even just this process, just

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<v Speaker 3>a number of people who stepped up and contributed, from Sue,

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<v Speaker 3>Joe and Hunter helping us put together videos and anime,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, to obviously our QA group and our performance

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<v Speaker 3>science and our Scouts and just the whole group, Tyrone

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<v Speaker 3>and Kristen in the kitchen to talk through that.

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<v Speaker 2>Just every different.

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<v Speaker 3>Department had their fingerprints on this, to ensure that we

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<v Speaker 3>were putting our best foot forward.

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<v Speaker 1>That doesn't sound like and Andrew Freeman that thought he

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<v Speaker 1>had Roki Sazaki in the bag two years ago, three

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<v Speaker 1>years ago.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you can ask my cardiologists. We definitely did not. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, there's gonna be noise. It's so ridiculous.

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<v Speaker 2>You know.

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<v Speaker 3>The funniest for me is people who said before the

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<v Speaker 3>process started always going to go to the Dodgers and

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<v Speaker 3>then he went to the Dodgers and like, see the

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<v Speaker 3>fix is in. It's like, no, the reason you thought

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<v Speaker 3>he was going to come to the Dodgers were pretty

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<v Speaker 3>compelling reasons, and he agreed and felt like we would

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<v Speaker 3>be the best place to partner with our city, our fans,

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<v Speaker 3>our ability to help make players better, friends, and familiar.

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<v Speaker 2>Faces that he already knows.

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<v Speaker 3>There are so many reasons that we felt like, and

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<v Speaker 3>obviously we were biased that it made sense, but we

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<v Speaker 3>weren't sure how I was gonna land with a twenty

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<v Speaker 3>three year old and having Yoshinobu and show, hey, we're

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<v Speaker 3>either gonna be incredibly helpful or the exact opposite, and

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<v Speaker 3>we weren't sure which one.

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew, You've been the most aggressive GM Baseball Operations department

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<v Speaker 1>all off season long. It feels like even though we're

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<v Speaker 1>just a few weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting,

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<v Speaker 1>it still feels like the wheels are turning and you

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<v Speaker 1>still feel like you could make this roster just fit better.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean we talk about this a lot. We

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<v Speaker 3>can't find the off switch. We're always looking for opportunities

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<v Speaker 3>to make this team better. Sometimes it doesn't line up

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<v Speaker 3>and work out. Sometimes it does, but it will never

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<v Speaker 3>stop our effort and trying to figure out things that

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<v Speaker 3>make sense for us to make us better.

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<v Speaker 1>You clean up really nice for these press conferences that man.

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<v Speaker 1>I wish I could have seen you two weeks ago,

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<v Speaker 1>see what Andrew Friedman's life was like.

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<v Speaker 3>First of all, there are some pretty heavy bags under

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<v Speaker 3>my eyes. Second one, I got to return this suit

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<v Speaker 3>by six, so we gotta get going.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks a lot, and congratulations to not only you, but

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<v Speaker 1>your scuting department on the Pacific RIM because I know

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<v Speaker 1>you give them a lot of credit. You don't do

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<v Speaker 1>it all by yourself, So congratulations to the entire organization.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you.

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<v Speaker 3>And that's what's most special. It's just how many different

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<v Speaker 3>people played a part in this. And I don't know,

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<v Speaker 3>but I feel like if you take out any one

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<v Speaker 3>of those pieces, it's like a Jenga where it just

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<v Speaker 3>falls down. So for us to all band together and

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<v Speaker 3>do this together and get to this outcome is really special.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I'm glad you got a full head of hair.

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<v Speaker 1>You didn't pull it all out. We'll see you in

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<v Speaker 1>spring training.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks Dave.