LOS ANGELES — The conversation became a right of passage between Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. As the trade deadline approached each summer, Friedman kept Roberts abreast of the potential targets. One name kept coming up: Tommy Edman, the super-utility player from the St. Louis Cardinals.
“That started like three years ago,” Roberts said after a 10-5 victory over the Mets in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series put the Dodgers back in the World Series. “I don’t know if I can even say that publicly, but . . .”
The secret was out. This July, the Dodgers finally got their man. This October, he etched his place into franchise lore, hoisting the MVP trophy on Sunday night after slashing a two-run double and lifting a two-run homer to build a big enough lead in a game in which the Dodgers used seven different pitchers. Acquired to augment the lineup, he became a crucial part of its production, batting cleanup in a pair of games in the NLCS, including the clincher. He hit .407 in the series and drove in 11 runs along the way.
The accolades offered a storybook moment for Edman. He spent most of this season rehabbing from injuries. He did not make his 2024 debut until Aug. 19.
“It’s something that you always dream about,” Edman said. “Not necessarily what I was expecting.”
Unstoppable.
Tommy Edman is your NLCS MVP! pic.twitter.com/rUy2oaC2Be
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 21, 2024
This October, Edman demonstrated why the Dodgers wanted him. He represented the ideal of an archetype Friedman favors, the sort of utility player capable of providing solid offense while handling several different positions. Edman is a switch hitter who has played six different spots. He can credibly handle center field and shortstop. Friedman grinned when asked how long he had coveted Edman.
“He’s a highly skilled player,” Friedman said. “I like highly skilled players.”
The versatility allowed Roberts to cover several holes as injuries dogged the club. When starting shortstop Miguel Rojas went down with a groin injury in the National League Division Series, Roberts moved Edman there from center field, a decision that also put Kiké Hernández into the lineup. Edman offered stability in the infield as the group changed shape while Freddie Freeman dealt with a sprained ankle and Gavin Lux nursed tightness in his hip flexor.
He served as a one-man Band-Aid for a team that required one. “He’s like the epitome of what we needed to bridge this ball club,” Roberts said.
Edman, a 29-year-old from La Jolla, Calif., spent the previous five seasons with the Cardinals. He underwent surgery on his right wrist last October. The procedure delayed the start to his season. As he worked his way back, he sprained his ankle. He dealt with lingering soreness as he played in rehab games in July.
On July 28, Edman was the designated hitter for Double-A Springfield. A day later, he was a Dodger. Friedman engineered a three-team trade between the Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox. In exchange for a package headlined by former top prospect Miguel Vargas, the Dodgers received Michael Kopech, the hard-throwing reliever who opened the proceedings on Sunday, and Edman. The impending arrival of Edman thrilled the Dodgers, who had admired his prowess from afar.
“You’re talking about a guy who is Gold Glove-level at numerous positions, bats from both sides, steals bases, lays down bunts, gets hits, hits for power,” infielder Max Muncy said. “You’re talking about just an absolute gamer. When we got him, everyone in here was super excited about it.”
Kopech was ready to join the Dodgers bullpen. Edman still needed time. He met the team in San Diego as the training staff plotted his onboarding. He accompanied the group to Oakland where the team organized a series of simulated games to test his readiness.
“A lot of guys find that pretty tedious, to have to go through that,” vice president of player performance Brandon McDaniel said. “He took every rep the way he was supposed to take it and he took every at-bat the way he was supposed to take it. He was just the ultimate professional the entire time.”
Edman spent six games with Triple-A Oklahoma City before the Dodgers activated him. His skills as a defender were apparent from the start. He flowed between center field and shortstop with ease. His hitting was less reliable. Edman was far more productive against left-handed pitchers. But the Dodgers could live with anemic production against righties, especially in a lineup already well-stocked with left-handed sluggers like Muncy, Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.
For most of this postseason, Edman alternated between the eighth and ninth spot in the lineup. He posted a .471 OPS against San Diego. He laid down a sacrifice in a Game 1 laugher against the Mets. He was not here, it seemed, for his bat. But he recorded three hits in Game 2 and was one of the few Dodgers who looked comfortable against Mets southpaw Sean Manaea.
With Freeman ailing and lefty Jose Quintana starting Game 4, Roberts installed Edman as his cleanup hitter. He had batted in the No. 4 spot only four times in his career before this postseason. He appeared unfazed by the promotion, roping a pair of doubles in another romp. With Manaea back on the mound for Game 6, and Freeman again on the bench, Edman returned to the cleanup role. He spent time before the game using the club’s Trajekt pitching machine, which can simulate the delivery of any pitcher, including the lowered arm angle of Manaea.
Edman came to the plate with one out and a pair of runners aboard in the first inning. He fouled off four pitches before Manaea tried to spot a backdoor sweeper. Edman bent down to one knee as he hooked a two-run double into left field. The hit took pressure off the relief corps after Kopech yielded a run in the top of the first. Edman’s next hit forced Mets manager Carlos Mendoza to consider expending his exhausted relievers.
In the third inning, after a leadoff single by outfielder Teoscar Hernández, Edman pestered Manaea again. Manaea fired four changeups. Edman spoiled three of them. His goal was to punch a line drive up the middle. Manaea tried to climb the ladder with a four-seam fastball. The pitch was probably a ball. Edman swung anyway, getting on top of the ball and sending it into the left-field bleachers.
“It was crazy,” Edman said. “It was one of those swings where I look back and I’m like, ‘Wow. I don’t really know how I did that.’ It’s cool, obviously, that that swing’s in there.”
As Edman spoke inside the Dodgers clubhouse, he was engulfed in a shower of Budweiser.
“Tommy Tanks!” shouted backup catcher Austin Barnes as he poured the brew over the MVP. “Tommy Tanks!”
Edman finished up his interviews. He took a swig from his own Bud. Then he waded into the puddles of spilled booze and general tomfoolery in the center of the room. He had earned the right to party. No wonder the Dodgers wanted him for so long.
“Given what happened to Miggy Ro, I can argue he’s as valuable as any player on our roster,” Roberts said of Edman. “The ability to play center field, the ability to play shortstop and be sure-handed. And to hit fourth in a lineup in an NLCS game. Pretty good player.”
(Top photo of Tommy Edman celebrating after being awarded the MVP trophy for the NLCS: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
