NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 3, 2026

Andrew Friedman

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. When you are constructing your roster, obviously Josue De Paula impressed in his 11 games. What was the deciding factor in keeping him on this one?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: I think you nailed it. The way he came up, obviously we think incredibly highly of him, and to see the calmness in his at-bats, the ability to look over baseball, the impact just felt like, as a bullet off the bench in big situations, just being able to trust the pulse and the ability.

Q. Since you've been here opening the postseason, as much confidence if not more about this team particularly because of the starting rotation?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: A lot of times I get asked to compare teams to teams, and I don't have great perspective. You're just so mired in the current year. But I guess a couple things. One, I feel like this is the best and deepest pitching staff we've ever had going into October. I think we had some tough conversations in leaving some guys off the roster. That would have never happened before.

Obviously things can change. Hopefully we play a lot this month, and things can change, but we left off the roster some really talented pitchers, which I think really speaks to the depth and volume of our staff.

Q. The players have tried to not focus on the three-peat narrative, the historical significance. How much has that kind of entered your thinking or how much have you felt that as you've gone through the season knowing the opportunity in a bigger-picture sense what you can accomplish this October?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: I think the opportunity to do that is as good as it gets, but it doesn't factor in at all. I think each year really takes on its own life form in a way that you, A, don't even have the time to have any broader perspective. You're really on the hamster wheel with all the things that are going on, and everything is about doing what we can to win this year.

So I'm not sure the desire or the effort level to win really can be different in a year. So regardless of what's happened the year before or the two years before, everything is about winning 11 games this month, and that's really no different.

Q. I was wondering if it's official that Blake Treinen is not going to be healthy enough to pitch this month. Has that been decided yet?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: Not decided firmly. It was clear for this round, but we'll keep monitoring it as we go.

Q. What exactly is he dealing with there?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: Some shoulder soreness. It's not surgical, but shoulder stuff.

Q. About two years ago before the World Series here, you said that your goal was to look back one day and for this to be the golden era of Dodger baseball. Regardless of what's happened this month, do you feel that's already been accomplished based on what you guys have accomplished over the past two years?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: Yeah, it's definitely been the goal really for the last ten-plus years. A, I don't think I'm qualified to answer the question, but B also, I don't think I have the perspective for it right now. Look forward to after I get fired or whatever and being able to look back on it and the specialness of this time.

But everything is so focused on the now and what's going on that I don't have great perspective. I think that's a question for everyone else to answer.

Q. Given the fact that this veteran core has been through this so many times over the last decade or so, the idea that they understand what goes into preparing to play in the postseason, how big of an advantage is that?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: I definitely think our experience is a real competitive advantage. October, this stage, it's a lot: the emotions, the intensity of the games. So I think for the guys that have been through it and have that appreciation -- you know, the game can speed up on guys. To have that experience to draw from, to be able to calm that in a way to be able to perform I think is really helpful.

That being said, obviously talent matters a lot, but coupled with that is how guys prepare, and I marvel at walking through our clubhouse and watching the way our guys prepare -- out on the field doing defensive drills, in the clubhouse watching video, talking about the pitcher, game planning. Just everywhere you go, there are guys who are focused on what to do to help you win a game that day.

I think to have that talent and that level of preparation is a rare thing.

Q. Hyeseong Kim has been out of your radar since late May. What makes you bring him back? Actually, he is too old to call him as a prospect, but did you see any progress this year?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: I think with Hyeseong, I think for us on this roster specifically, just his positional versatility and his foot speed. We have a lot of team strengths, in my mind. Foot speed is not one of them. So there can be opportunities late in games to utilize that in a way to help us score a run.

As far as his development, we think really highly of the player. The swing got a little off this year, and we look forward to getting through this, hopefully winning 11 games this month, and then working over the off-season because we really believe in the ability.

Q. Obviously a lot was made of how the offense kind of took a dip in July and August, and the offense wasn't very good in October last year either. How confident are you that offense is in a better spot based off September, and what sort of gives you the confidence to keep that going over the next month?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: I think there are a number of guys who are in a really good spot right now, which obviously helps. I think run scoring is at a premium in October to begin with. You're facing high-end arms and aggressive use of different pitchers that makes it harder.

That being said, our 1 through 9, we feel really good about. What that ultimately means, we're going to find out here shortly. But hitting is arguably the most difficult thing to do in professional sports, and just how the most subtle things can get guys a little bit out of whack.

So there are peaks and valleys throughout a year with guys. Sometimes they're timed in a way where two or three are going through it, three or four are more in a peak, and that's where your offense can hum consistently. There's also times where more than that are going through kind of a valley. We went through that this year.

Right now with where guys are we feel really good about, and just the ability to work an at-bat, our ability up and down the lineup to drive in runs, to hit homers, to really do things to generate offense, we feel really good about.

So now it's about going out and doing it, but we feel good about where our guys are heading in.

Q. If it's not you, who do you think would be qualified to say if this is a golden age for the Dodgers and why?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: Bill, I'd like you to answer that question, please (laughter).

I think it's for the fans. I think it's for you guys who have more perspective. I think it's not for me to answer.

Q. In watching Shohei and Freddie over the last week, how different do you feel about where they're at physically compared to the end of the regular season?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: I think we've talked about this a lot. Your goal going into Spring Training is to get the bye. That being said, it's not all roses. There's challenges that come with that many days off, but I think with Freddie and Sho, those days off were great. I think they were really helpful in terms of some rest, allowing them time to work on their swings, and I know both are feeling really good going into today.

Q. The team you faced in the World Series last year didn't make the Wild Card round. How much do you appreciate just how difficult it is to be back in the postseason, much less win it all back-to-back years?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: We talk about this a lot, but whenever we won the division, Tarik Skubal was like, well, do we celebrate this? When do we celebrate? When? And we do, we celebrate that hard and enjoy it because it is really hard.

I think the amount that goes into it, the potential things that come up throughout the course of a season with injuries and the timing of things and regression in performance -- there's so many factors that to be able to withstand the 162 games and get into October, I think is very worthy of a celebration and to blow it out because it is really, really hard.

You kind of see it in different years where teams have had success and then kind of worn that the next year. So for us to be able to do this and put ourselves in this position is the ultimate in terms of your regular season goal, and it is incredibly difficult.

Q. You guys and I guess other front office groups have talked often about just kind of the randomness of October, especially when you get into best of fives, best of three. How much do you think having a really good starting rotation helps negate some of that? And was that intentional from you guys' perspective? Obviously you want to build the best roster possible, but like finding four front line guys to just try to overcome some of that, how much of that was like strategy for you guys?

ANDREW FRIEDMAN: I think it's more that there is some randomness in baseball, and it's why the best teams win 60 percent and the worst teams still win 40 percent, which I think is different than other sports in that way.

I think talent still really matters, and I don't know that I have an answer of like but if you're talented here and not here, it's fine. I think for us it's about being as talented as we can be in all different facets of the game.

We've talked about this a lot as well. A really good starting rotation obviously is really helpful, but it is very impactful for quality of life. We have gone through years where our starting rotation hasn't been as good. In '24 that wasn't a strength of our roster. We won the World Series. The quality of life is way more difficult than being able to pencil in a Skubal, a Snell, a Yama, and a Glas.

But I think there's a lot of different ways to win and be able to leverage the strengths of a team, but definitely quality of life-wise, it's a big, big deal.