Andrew Friedman said Monday that he is finalizing a contract to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking a possible candidate off the board in the Red Sox’ search for a new leader of the baseball operations department.
Friedman was considered one of the most logical possibilities for the job, which has been vacant since Dave Dombrowski was fired in September as president of baseball operations. Friedman, 42, made a name for himself in Tampa Bay and has spent the past five years in Los Angeles, helping to lead the Dodgers to two straight World Series before getting bounced out of the playoffs by the Nationals early this year.
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Despite the success, Friedman had not signed a contract extension and there was speculation he may become a free agent.
Friedman ended that speculation on Monday when he told the Los Angeles Times that his contract would be finalized “in the next couple of days,” ahead of its expiration at the end of October.
Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @k8tmac.