Andrew Friedman sat alone on a dais on the ground floor of Dodger Stadium on Oct. 14. Five days had passed since his team capsized in the first round of the playoffs. He had shaved the salt-and-pepper beard he wore in the regular season, where the Dodgers set a franchise record with 106 wins and established themselves as the favorite to represent the National League in the World Series. He was still grappling with the reality that October would continue without his club.



“It’s taken days to get over the loss, and I wanted to be in a better headspace to think about it,” Friedman said. “I know going into the playoffs, we definitely had a team talented enough to win a World Series. We didn’t do it. So for us, we have to figure out what we can take away from that. Not to react just to react — but really look at ways that we can get better and improve.”



Friedman required 118 days — and a pair of failed pursuits of...