Andrew Friedman: Dodgers 'Definitely Noticed' Padres' Offseason Moves

The San Diego Padres were the second-best team in the NL West last season, and they've made a number of transactions this offseason to better their chances at success heading into 2021.

The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers have noticed.

"We've definitely noticed what they've done," said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (h/t Mark Feinsand of MLB.com). "We're going to do everything we can to maintain our position."

Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. were cornerstones of a Padres team that went 37-23 before being swept by the Dodgers in the NLDS last season. They both return next season, and the Padres made multiple moves that put them in a better position to contend moving forward.

This offseason, the Padres have landed a number of notable stars through trades, building a rotation by making moves for Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove.

Then they beefed up the infield with the addition of Ha-Seong Kim, who has starred in the Korean Baseball Organization since 2014 but took it up a level by slashing .306/.397/.523 with 30 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 2020.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, won the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes when they signed the Cy Young Award winner to a three-year, $102 million deal, but they lost utilityman Kike Hernandez to the Boston Red Sox and outfielder Joc Pederson to the Chicago Cubs in free agency. Infielder Justin Turner, who was a major piece of the team's postseason run, is still on the market. 

San Diego is projected by FanGraphs to be the third-best team in MLB in 2021, while the Dodgers are still expected to come out on top, but the question marks on the Dodgers roster stand in stark contrast to the focused work the Padres have put together this offseason.