Dave Roberts discusses extension talks with Dodgers

It’s been a busy offseason in Los Angeles this winter because the reigning World Collection champions have labored exhausting to enhance their roster, bringing in high-profile free brokers like Blake Snell and Tanner Scott whereas additionally securing the companies of 23-year-old phenom Roki Sasaki in worldwide free company. Frustrations from followers across the recreation led MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to talk out in opposition to the assertion from some followers that the Dodgers and their aggressive spending are “ruining” baseball.

For all of the work the Dodgers have gotten performed this winter, nonetheless, one main piece of the puzzle stays uncompleted: an extension for longtime supervisor Dave Roberts. Roberts’ contract expires after the 2025 season, and the membership’s entrance workplace officers have made clear that they intend to maintain their veteran skipper round past the top of his present contract. In an look on the Baseball Tonight podcast with ESPN’s Buster Olney, Roberts revealed that the perimeters have “simply began speaking” about an extension, and whereas his major focus is on the beginning of spring coaching he prompt he’s hopeful a deal will get performed.

“Hopefully, the whole lot takes care of itself,” Roberts mentioned on the podcast. “But it surely’s about worth. And I like this group, however yeah, you need to really feel your worth. Completely.”

It’s exhausting to disclaim Roberts’s worth to the group. He’s been on the helm for 2 World Collection championships since taking up as skipper previous to the 2016 season, and his Dodgers have made two extra journeys to the World Collection in 2017 and 2018. In the meantime, they’ve been dominant within the common season for his total tenure with the membership: since Roberts took over as supervisor in L.A. the membership has posted an unbelievable 851-705 file. His .627 profession successful share as a giant league supervisor (which additionally features a one-game stint as skipper of the Padres in 2015) is the perfect of anybody with no less than 1,000 MLB video games managed, and he’s completed within the prime 5 of NL Supervisor of the 12 months award voting seven occasions all through his profession together with a win in 2016 in addition to second place finishes in each 2017 and 2022.

That Roberts needs to “really feel [his] worth” on the subject of his subsequent contract is hardly a shock on condition that resume, and there’s been an upward pattern in salaries for managers across the recreation not too long ago. Final offseason, longtime Brewers skipper Craig Counsell headed into free company after not signing a contract extension previous to or through the 2023 season. As soon as a free agent, Counsell was courted by various golf equipment earlier than finally touchdown with the Cubs on a deal that assured him a record-setting $40M over 5 years.

The deal made Counsell the highest-paid supervisor within the recreation, and set the stage for well-regarded Crimson Sox supervisor Alex Cora to enter the 2024 season with out an extension in hand. Cora finally prolonged with the membership on a three-year deal that assured him roughly $21.75M again in July, a deal that seemingly solidified the marketplace for the sport’s prime managers within the $7M-8M vary yearly. Roberts is extra adorned than both Cora or Counsell as a supervisor, and whereas no specifics surrounding the negotiations have been reported at this level, it could appear affordable to anticipate Roberts to be searching for a deal that no less than falls into that vary.

Whereas its theoretically doable that Roberts might observe in Cora’s and even Counsell’s footsteps and maintain off on signing an extension till later within the 2024 season and even till he reaches free company this winter, given the Dodgers’ consolation with high-dollar expenditures and feedback on either side of the negotiation suggesting that Roberts staying within the fold is the popular final result, it appears extra probably that the perimeters will be capable of iron out a deal, maybe even earlier than the membership heads to Tokyo to kick off the 2025 season in opposition to the Cubs subsequent month.