Dodgers' Andrew Friedman Reveals Owner Mark Walter's Focus for 2027 Team

Mark Walter, the embattled owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was focused on preparing for the 2027 season sooner than the team's own front office.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made the frank admission Wednesday, six days after the team was eliminated in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Speaking at his end-of-season press conference, Friedman said that Walter's attitude toward the offseason has been "business as usual."

Somehow Walter has been focused on improving teams in the off-season and Friedman says it's business as usual.

"We talked to Mark after we lost and he was obviously really disappointed but so much of his focus was on, 'OK, what can we do,' 'what are our plans,' 'what are our thoughts for the offseason?' And our brains weren't quite there yet," Friedman said. "So much of his focus was, 'how do we put ourselves in the best position to win in '27?' "

Walter abruptly sold his stake in the Los Angeles Lakers in August, 14 months after he agreed to purchase the team from the Buss family. He sold his minority stake in the Chelsea Football Club to Clearlake Capital in September. The Dodgers' chairman also reportedly tried to let Charter Communications cash out of its SportsNet LA contract.

The sudden rush to offload these sports assets followed a federal investigation into Walter's insurance empire, and the classification of loans made between business entities under his control.

Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in August that the Lakers sale had no bearing on Walter's plans for the Dodgers. Two months later, that appears to be no less true.

The Dodgers spent in excess of $433 million including competitive balance taxes in 2026, according to Spotrac, vastly outpacing MLB's No. 2 spender (the New York Mets). Exactly what "business as usual" looks like in the coming months depends heavily on the owners' ability to include a hard salary cap in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The current CBA expires Dec. 1. MLB is expected to lock out players at that time. The Dodgers' spending habits could be impacted more than perhaps any other team's if the owners prevail in negotiations — and Walter will be one of the owners with a seat at the bargaining table (metaphorically if not literally).

Walter said in March that he supported more parity in MLB, even at the expense of his own team's dominance. Walter's focus today might be on improving the Dodgers' fortunes in 2027. Soon enough, his focus will shift to necessary labor talks that directly affect how much money he can spend to improve the team.