There are several ways to build a baseball team, including drafting, developing, trading, and spending money in free agency. The Dodgers are very good at all of those, which is at least part of why they’ve been the best team in baseball since Andrew Friedman took over the front office prior to the 2015 season.
But one area where some people don’t give Friedman & Co. enough credit is identifying “scrap heap players” — players who can be acquired cheaply (either via free agency or trade) and then unlock some of their potential. Justin Turner is perhaps one of the most famous examples of this type of player, but Friedman can’t take credit for that one, as it was his predecessor, Ned Colletti, who brought JT into the fold.